I Are Crew Chief
by Abiotic Factor
Summary: What happens when you throw a crew chief in an alien world where all his ideas of reality are turned upside down? Anything can happen as TSgt Eric Broussard tries to cope in his new surroundings as he looks for a way to go home. Yet the longer he stays in this new world and interacts with its inhabitants will he want to leave when the solution presents itself?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

'Fucking PACS.'

That was about the only thing going through my head as I pulled the hood of my APECS jacket over my headset and tried to get comfortable. My name is Eric Broussard, Dedicated Crew Chief on the Rivet Joint airframe, and a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force with about ten years in service. Yet even after working and flying on these planes for a decade now I still can never get used to how cold these flight crews like to have the insides of these jets whenever we go somewhere. True the RC-135 was literally packed to the gills with sensors, processor racks and a plethora of other electronic goodness and all those electronics produced a lot of heat when they were all up and running. I still didn't think that it had to be an icebox upstairs by running both air conditioning systems at full blast; effectively turning the fuselage compartment into basically the world's longest deepfreeze.

This of course didn't help me get any decent sleep as we continued on our ferry flight from our home station at Offutt AFB to our detachment in Japan. Currently we were flying somewhere over Alaska after stopping at Eielson AFB for some gas, and usually I would have taken some kind of sleep aid to help me get to sleep but the flight plan didn't call for any mid-air refuels so we would be stopping at Misawa to top off before continuing on again. This unfortunately meant that I would only be able to grab a couple hours nap, at best, before arriving at our next destination. Now being a maintainer working long hours and getting little amounts of sleep is nothing new, and I pride myself on being able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere on command yet this numbing cold wasn't making it very easy.

As I rolled on the floor in front of the aft hatch trying to get comfortable in my sleeping bag for what seemed like the umpteenth time, I managed to get a glimpse out the hatch window and see one of nature's natural wonders. Dancing high above the plane in magnificent ethereal flames of greens and purples and blues was the magical fires of the Aurora borealis, the northern lights. Being originally from the gulf coast of Texas I never got the opportunity to see such sights before in the night skies I grew up with, and it was for sights such as these that I decided to join the Air Force almost as soon as I had graduated high school. As I watched the particles burn in the upper atmosphere I could almost forget the icy numbness coming from my toes and accept the welcoming embrace of slumber.

That is if it wasn't for that damn whistling noise that I was now hearing.

Rolling my eyes as I let out a growl in irritation I dragged myself out of my bag and made my way towards the offending noise. The whistling seemed to be coming from somewhere on the wall in front of me but I couldn't pinpoint the exact location in the depths of shadows that surrounded the aft hatch. Grabbing my flashlight from my backpack I shined the bright light against the insulated wall, and using my ears and sense of touch to feel for the rushing of wind I began my search. After a few moments I was able to pinpoint the noise to the aft hatch seal which hadn't completely sealed against the bulkhead. This wasn't a big thing because it was only a small leak and wouldn't result in depressurization of the plan and could be fixed easily by adjusting the stops on the hatch. Unfortunately you can't adjust a hatch on a pressurized plane as it flies in excess of thirty thousand feet.

I had to give a sigh in frustration knowing that I wouldn't be able to get rid of the noise until we landed the next time, which meant that any chance of sleep would be hindered by the seemingly endless whistle of pressurized air as it left the aircraft. I gave the hatch a once over to ensure that it was still properly secured before I began to try and find somewhere else that was quieter to take a nap.

Just then the aircraft began to lurch violently as I heard the voice of the AC ring through my headset, "Hey everyone, make sure you're in your seats and your buckles are fastened. Looks like we've hit a little rough patch of turbulence, but we should be out of it soon."

With that I turned off my flashlight and went to place it back in my backpack when I felt the plane jump hard again under me, making me lose my balance. As I used my hand to steady myself I heard a slow moaning sound come from the hatch behind me. The aluminum began to pop and creak eerily as I watched in silent horror, unable to will my body into movement. I shouldn't have been concerned because the bulkhead lip should have been unable to allow the hatch to be pulled out, but that didn't mean that the bulkhead itself wasn't the piece failing. Then almost as soon as it had started the noise went away. I sat there waiting with baited breath for a moment as if to make sure that the danger had passed, but fate would not be so kind.

With one final explosive pop I watched the hatch collapse in on itself as it was simultaneously sucked out into the night sky which was soon followed by myself. I tried to yell for help but was quickly silenced as my head came in contact with the bulkhead in my forced expulsion from the plane.

The last thing I could register as I watched the shadowy outline of my plane fly away and the inky blackness of unconsciousness consumed me was the rushing of cold wind by my head, and the colors of the northern lights still flowing above me like the waves of some distant shore.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Darkness.

That was all that greeted me as I slowly came back to the world of consciousness. Slowly my senses began to return to me one by one. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin which was a welcomed blessing from the freezing cold that I remembered from the plane. Taking a deep breath I smell a clean scent that reminds me of a trip with my family to Yellowstone when I was young. It was the pure smell of mountains mixed strongly with the biting sharpness of pine trees. The droning sound of cicadas begins to invade my ears which lead me to believe that somehow I was now in a forest.

Daring to open my eyes, I quickly closed them again as sunlight stabbed my unadjusted irises. Giving myself a moment for the pain to recede I open them again, this time more carefully, only to stare up into an azure sky. My muscles are stiff and protest as I try to slowly move my limbs to ensure that nothing was broken or paralyzed. Clenching my fist I feel the soft blades of grass tickling my fingers as they run through my grasp.

"What the hell happened?" I ask aloud as I pluck a handful of grass and bring it in front of my face. My mind is in disbelief but even in my foggy state of mind I know I should be dead. I let the grass go into a passing breeze and lazily watch them float away. "There's no way I should have survived that fall."

After a few moments of cautiously patting myself down so as to rest the uneasy feeling of serious bodily injury or broken boys, I slowly set myself up and take a look around. I found out my suspicions were true as I was now sitting in a clearing in the middle of a forest with sprouts of wildflowers springing from here and there. The sky is clear, save for the stray wisp of cottony cloud floating by, and a bird was circling high above on a thermal current. A rosy colored butterfly caught my attention as it fluttered past my eyes, and I followed it as it continued on until it came to rest on a familiar lump lying in the grass not far from me.

Crawling over I grab the ABU patterned backpack and pulled it to me, opening it to make sure everything was still okay and that no creatures have decided to make it their new home. Opening each compartment I ran through a quick inventory to see what I now had available to me to get me through this situation. I came up with: one pair of civilian clothes consisting of jeans and a spare khaki t-shirt, one laptop, a bag of trail mix, one half eaten bag of jerky, random assorted pens and mechanical pencils, around a hundred feet of paracord, some scrounge inside a gallon size Ziploc bag, my plastic water jug, a folding pocket knife, a multi-tool, a set of APECS pants and jacket, a sage green fleece jacket and beanie, my mp3 player with extra batteries, and my David-Clarke headsets.

After ensuring that no stowaways had made their way aboard I repack the bags with the items, minus the pocket knife and water jug which I shove in one of my many pants pockets. Slinging the bag on my shoulders and placing on my ABU cap I stand and try to figure out my next order of business. Trying to figure a way out of these woods and back to civilization.

I went to pull out my smart phone to check the time, but as I felt nothing in my pocket I remembered that I had put in on the charger back on the plane. Looking to the sky I quickly found the sun hanging in the sky over my left shoulder. By using hand widths as a measuring tool and judging by the dampness on my clothes from lying in the grass I guesstimated it to roughly be about ten in the morning.

After figuring out my general directions and a rough guess at the time I try to remember all the hunting trips with my father and grandfather, along with any survival information I had learned, to try and find away out. Looking at the surrounding forest I could make out a couple of game trails leading across the clearing. Unfortunately, none of them had any fresh tracks on the ground to let me know that it was still being actively used. Figuring that anywhere but here was better than sitting still; I decide to take the path that was leading in a southerly direction.

Taking a limb I find on the ground I gouge an arrow into the ground pointing down the path I was going to take incase any aerial rescue came by. I had to chuckle a little bit when I thought about some team coming along expecting to find my body, and instead find out that I had simply walked away from a thirty thousand foot fall. After making my marker in the dirt I readjust the cap on my head before beginning my trek south, secretly hoping to come upon civilization soon.

"Fuck you Murphy." I mutter to myself angrily.

It had been over six hours and I was no closer to getting out of these woods then when I had started. Stranger still, I hadn't seen any wildlife either. Sure I had seen the occasional signs of footprint or droppings but they were older signs. Heck the wolf tracks I found were so worn down that they looked absolutely humongous, bigger than any tracks I had ever seen.

Still, I wasn't going to take any chances on having a surprise encounter with any said "superwolves" as my grip tightened around my makeshift spear that I had made out of a sturdy sapling. I could see the sun slowly continue to creep to the horizon on my right and I knew that I needed to start looking for a place to bed down for the night before it finally set.

Stopping on the trail I pulled out my water jug and took a small swig, wetting my parched throat with the cool liquid. As I placed the almost empty jug back into the cargo pocket, it reminded me that I also still needed to find some source of fresh water in addition to finding shelter and building a fire. At that moment, as if some deity watching from the heavens above decided to take pity on my wretched predicament, a faint splash made its way to my ears. A sound brought comfort to me because it meant two certainties were close by, water and food.

With renewed vigor in my step I headed towards where I heard the noise come from. Making my way through the underbrush I soon came upon a wide rapid flowing stream, the crystal clear water babbling over the bed of smooth grey rocks. Kneeling on the bank, I dip my hand into the water only to flinch slightly as the icy cold water flowed between my fingers. I'm relieved by this because it means that the stream is more than likely aquifer-feed, reducing any chances of any kind of pathogens.

Now knowing that the water was safe to drink; I quickly relieve my thirst and replenished my jug, before moving on to the next order of business, finding shelter for the night. Luck continued to shine on me as I found an abandoned cave not far from the riverbank from where I was. After scouring around the cave I had gathered enough wood to hopefully last me through the night, and with the help of an AA battery and a bubblegum wrapper I soon had a strong fire going. Just as I watched the last rays of sunlight dip below the horizon.

Later that night as I sat at the entrance of the cave, stoking my campfire absentmindedly, I dwelled upon my situation as most everyone would when lost alone in the woods. I still didn't know where I was. I assumed by the foliage that I was somewhere still in Alaska. My fear though was that I was on one of the many islands in the Aleutians chain between Alaska and Japan by the lack of wildlife I had seen.

Even though I hadn't seen much I still knew that Alaska was teaming with all sorts of dangerous wildlife, especially bears. And I was sure my pointy stick would do little more than piss off a full grown bear. Right before using said stick as a toothpick after it ate me.

The firewood popped as I continued to poke it, sending a geyser of embers flying ever skyward. Over the cackling of the fire I suddenly heard the snapping of a twig off into the woods off to my left, turning to look towards the noise I felt my blood ran cold.

Off in the woods I found a pair shining green eyes staring at me with devious intent. I could not see the rest of the creature that they belonged to being as it stayed out of the reach of the fire's orange glow. This action only seemed to aid in raising my fear of what it could be. Secretly I hoped it was something harmless like a passing deer or moose, but by the way the eyes are boring into me I knew that I wasn't that lucky.

The creature and I continued our stare down with each tense moment, daring each other to make the first move. After what seemed like hours the creature finally turned and returned back into the darkness, not even trying to hide itself anymore as I hear its steps grow steadily quieter. Once it was far enough away to where I felt safe I found myself releasing a breath that I hadn't even known I was holding.

I kept a closer watch on my surrounding for the remainder of the night until sleep eventually overtook me.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I awoke the next day groggily to the crackling sound of the dying campfire. Slowly and stiffly I lifted myself from my resting place against the cave wall. My back was damp from the moss lining the walls, and protested against my attempts to straighten out the sore muscles.

The sun was just beginning to break through the trees as I let out a stifled yawn. I take a look at my surroundings, now that it is lit up by the sun, to see if my visitor from the night before decided to come back for a morning visit. Once I was certain the area was clear of danger I decided to try and muster up some kind of breakfast down at the stream. Snuffing out the last embers of the campfire with some dirt, I grabbed my bag and spear and headed back down the path towards the cool spring.

After the encounter the night before; to say that I was a little more on alert this morning would have been an understatement as my eyes darted about at anything that looked suspicious. I also made every attempt I could to walk as stealthily as possible so as to not attract any unwanted attention. I still didn't know what the creature was, but if the distance between its eyes was any kind of judge of size, it was definitely something I didn't want to get the drop on my while I was out in the open. That made me all the more thankful for the tiger-stripped pattern of my ABU's. They may not have matched the surrounding foliage color exactly, but the pattern did a lot to break up my profile which was what I needed to help me blend in.

Taking a cue from my childhood playing army with the other kids from the neighborhood, I reached into the soft black dirt and began to rub it across my exposed skin. Streaking my tanned skin with shadows of dirt and mud; hopefully completing my camouflage as best as I could without a ghillie suit. Continuing on it wasn't long before I could once again hear the sound of rushing water.

Using some good ol' crew chief ingenuity I had quickly fashioned myself a makeshift fishing pole. Using a sturdy limb for a pole and a couple of nylon strings from the inside of a strip of paracord that I had cut to length and braided for my fishing line. For the hook I found a small cotter pin in my scrounge bag that I bent into shape using my multi-tool and had sharpened to a point on a nearby river rock. Taking a small piece of my remaining jerky, I fastened it to the hook and with a pinecone as a bob I was soon relaxing on the shore waiting for a nibble.

Leaning against a tree so as to keep an alert appearance, I decide to try and quell my hunger with the last handful of trail mix and some water. Keeping a watch on the floating pinecone I noticed a brightly colored reflection pass along the water surface, at first I thought it might have been a passing plane or helicopter. But being as I couldn't hear any engine noise and the fact it was now out of sight I quickly dismissed it as a passing bird.

"Didn't know they had birds colored like that here," I found myself muttering absently to no one, "Almost looked like it was colored like a rainbow."

Shrugging it off I focused back on the task at hand, and after a couple of hours I had a nice couple of brown trout stringed in the stream with the rest of the piece of paracord from earlier. I looked into the sky and saw the sun creeping ever higher to its noonday apex, which was beginning to turn the air hot and muggy. Deciding to call it a day I wrapped up my fishing line, and pull my catch out of the water to begin looking for a place to clean them. Preferring, to have the smell of fish guts here by the stream as opposed to having it at wherever I decided to make camp later.

Finding a fallen log to use as a makeshift table I make quick work on the trout before eating the meat raw, not wanting to waste time trying to build a new fire. As I knelt over the river, cleaning my knife of the fish residue in the rushing water, I was slightly startled by the sound of splashing coming from somewhere upriver. A part of my brain told me to ignore the noise as just some more fish, but unfortunately the curious side of my brain won out and began to set me on a path of events that are still unfolding to this day.

After quickly scrubbing my hands in the dirt to help cover the smell of my fishing endeavor; I decided to leave my fishing rod there planning to pick it up on my way back. Taking up my spear again I began to head in the direction of the noise.

Making my way through the dense undergrowth that lined the shores of the stream was no easy task as I was forced to eventually leave my backpack by a tree to ease my quest. The sound grew louder as I continued on letting it guide me to its source. As I came to a final ridge I ducked behind a nearby tree trunk, hoping not to startle whatever was on the other side. Suddenly I remembered to encounter from the night before and silently cursed myself for falling my curiosity again. For all I knew that same predator was on the other side of this ridge and I had just offered myself up like an entrée on a silver platter.

Picking up a few dried leaves, I dropped them in front of me to watch them float away from me. Breathing a sigh of relief that I was downwind of whatever it was; I gathered up the courage to finally peek around the trunk to the other side of the ridge, before my mouth promptly fell open in awe.

There standing in the stream, taking a bath, was a blonde-haired girl. Scratch that. With those curves there was no way the person standing in front of me was anything short of a woman. She was currently facing away from me running her hands through her golden mane that flowed down her toned back and past her slender waist sticking to her wide hips and supple rear before pooling out into the thigh high water. Her wet tanned skin shined in the sunlight like a gem as my gaze went back up to her slender arms, catching the slightest peek of the side of her sizable breast which led me to believe that her front was just as curvy as her back. As she shifted slightly to the side I caught sight of what looked like a tattoo of three red apples on her hips.

As much as I wanted to continue to gawk at this river nymph before me, my Southern morals and upbringing was trying to convince me that looking at this woman bath without her consent was wrong. So with one last look for future memories I stepped out from behind the tree and made sure my cap was lowered enough to obstruct my view as I cast my eyes downward and cleared my throat.

"Ahem," I announced, causing a reaction from the woman almost instantaneously as I heard a splash from the water. " Sorry to startle you ma'am but I'm currently lost and was wondering if you could help me get back to civilization so I can get in contact with my unit?"

I hear nothing from her as I continue to stand there while trying to fight every screaming urge through my head to soak in the sight of her flesh again. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence I figured that I may have startled her too much and should try and make an attempt to calm the situation. I took a cautious step forward, keeping my hands up, trying to remain as non-threatening as I can be.

"I really am-"I started but was quickly cut off as she yelled at me.

"Wec fego ra c'el liev! (Stay back now ya'h hear!)" She yelled at me as I heard the water splash again, more than likely from her taking a step away from me.

I stood there motionless as I tried to process what she had said. The language was foreign to me and despite my best attempts I couldn't understand what she was trying to tell me.

'What is that? It doesn't sound like Japanese or Korean. Maybe it's Russian or some kind of Inuit language.' I thought to myself. Either was I could tell by her tone that she was uneasy by my presence, and risking my chance of getting out of her over something like simple etiquette I looked up to meet her gaze.

Any doubts about my course of action were quickly quelled as I gazed upon her body, which she didn't even bother trying to cover. As beautiful as she was there were certain features that were beginning to strike me as, well just plain not normal.

First off was the set of tan colored ears that were currently lying down atop her head that reminded me of the kind of ears you'd expect to see on a deer or some other kind of hoofed animal, not a woman. Next was her face, which looked normal enough, even the eyes which were the biggest set of emerald green eyes I had ever seen. The kinds of eyes that draw you in and never let you go from their embrace. Her cute face had freckles speckled across her cheeks, and her full pink lips were currently set agape as she fumbled at what to do. The next thing I noticed was that the last joint of each finger was a shiny dark brown as she slowly pointed one in my direction.

Trying to put random thoughts of The Island of Doctor Moreau aside, I still figured that this wo… female was the best chance of me getting out of here. Taking another step forward she yelled at me again in that strange language.

"Wec fego! Ra me aevirk c'el! (Stay back! Now I'm warning y'ah!)"

"I'm sorry little lady, but I don't rightly understand what you're trying to say." I told her in the softest voice I could. But as I took yet another step forward she yells the same command at me; so I stop and this seems to work as she stops yelling at me.

Needing to gain her trust I decided to show a sign of good faith by dropping the makeshift spear in my hand and taking off my cap, running a hand through my short black hair. Why I did that I still don't know, maybe it was some crazy idea that if she could see that we were similar looking she wouldn't be so on edge. Either way it seemed to work as she began to drop her guard ever so slightly as we just stood there looking at each other, both of us unsure at what to do next.

I tried to break the ice again as I spoke up, "So do you speak any English?"

She just tilted her head a little to the side as I watched an ear twitch; her expression reminded me of the look a puppy gave you when you tried to talk with it on why it peed on the carpet. So obviously she didn't know English so I tried another approach. I brought one of my hands up to my chest and gently pat it against my blouse so that she'd hopefully get the hint.

"My name is Eric Broussard. What's yours?" I asked now pointing to her. Nothing, still the same look so I decided to try again but this time even simpler as I point back to myself. "Eric."

As I pointed to her this time her brow furrowed as if she was honestly processing it before I saw the realization in her eyes and she one of her hands up to her breast, "Eptinego. (Applejack.)"

"Eptinego," I tried the name, liking how it rolled off my tongue, to which she smiles and gave a small nod before pointing to me.

"Ehlrik?" She said trying out my name and even though it was a little wrong it was still some sort of progress and I gave her a nod in approval and repeated my name. She tried it again and this time got it right without any issue.

Now hoping that I had some sort of rapport with Eptinego I tried to see if she could at least point me in a direction I could head in. Eptinego's tension from earlier now seemed to be completely gone as she now headed to the shore before disappearing behind a tree, I figured to grab her clothes. Much to my surprise she walked back around the other side still as naked as the day she was born, save for a work brown Stetson that now rested snuggly on her head.

"Uh, Eptinego?" I said as she looked towards me with that same smile on her face, "Not that I don't enjoy looking at the gifts that nature gave you, and it's going to hurt me to say this but do you have any clothes?"

Again with the furrowed brow and blank stare. So with a strained sigh I pinched the shoulders of my blouse and shook it slightly, "Clothes?"

She shook her head after a moment and I decided to drop the subject and just enjoy the view, "No need in looking a gift horse in the mouth I guess."

As if Eptinego was reading my mind I watched as the length of hair below her waist flicked as she tied the end with what looked like a red scrunchie. I found myself starring at the blonde hair as it swished to and fro as my mind tried to comprehend what I was seeing.

'A tail! She has a motherfucking tail!' My brain was screaming at me as she leaned over in front of me to grab some kind of satchel by a bush. With another flick of that long blonde tail I was granted a glimpse of her tanned legs that seemed to go on for days right up to what had to that perfectly shaped derrière with the apple tats. For some reason I was reminded of a popular song from a couple of years back that they used to play in the clubs as I began to hum it softly to myself. 'She had them Apple Bottom Jeans, Boots with the fur, The whole club lookin at her…'

Suddenly Etpinego stood up and I watched her ears rotate atop her head, scanning the surrounding forest. I strained my hearing as best as I could but I couldn't hear whatever phantom sound she was, aside from the steady droning of insects in the noonday heat. Next thing I knew she raced over to me and without a moment of hesitation began to pull on my hand while talking to me with absolute terror lacing her voice.

"Qis vu c'el kampa! Ai navash kix livi! (Come on you idjit! We gotta get out of here!)" She told me as she continued to tug on my arm as she kept desperately repeating, "Qis vu! Qis vu! (Come on! Come on!)"

I firmly stood my ground, not understanding what had gotten her so worked up all of a sudden as I grabbed her wrist and brought her close to me staring down into her green eyes. She stopped struggling as she looked into my blue eyes but I could still feel her whole body trembling in my grasp, "Eptinego, what is it?"

I heard a rustling now coming from all around us in the surrounding forest and almost didn't catch what she said as she spoke in a voice just above a whisper.

"Azcidi. (Timberwolves.)"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Azcidi…?" I muttered confused, not knowing what the word meant. Whatever it meant I could tell by the noise coming from all around us that it was big and didn't sound very nice.

Grabbing my spear from the ground I quickly shoved Etpinego behind me as I silently cursed at myself for not trusting her to begin with. The least I could do now was to try and ensure that she got away from here the best I could.

Suddenly bursting forth from the underbrush to the right of us a creature leapt at us and I barely had enough time to pull Etpinego and I to the ground as its body flew over us. It landed effortlessly before beginning to circle around us growling, the element of surprise now lost. Getting a look at the creature it resembled a wolf but not like any I had ever seen before in any kind of nature show.

The creature stood around eight feet at the shoulder and its body was at least double that in length. Its body was made up of what appeared to be pieces of the forest itself instead of the body of muscle and coat of coarse fur I was used to seeing. Muscle was replaced with branches of all assorted sizes and thickness while its fur was mostly patches of moss which left much of the body before it exposed. The azcidi snarled at us exposing the jagged pieces of black rock that made up its teeth. Yet even though this creature was scary enough what with its size and appearance resembling some wooden zombie wolf; what scarred me the most and was by far its most terrifying feature was its glowing red eye, the same red eyes that had starred at me from the darkness last night. That's when it dawned on me the wolf wasn't afraid of me last night, it was afraid of the campfire. Yet here I know stood exposed and without an ember to my name.

"Well fuck."

The azcidi continued to pace back and forth in front of us eyeing us hungrily with those demonic red eyes. I knew I had to get Etpinego out of here but unfortunately the azcidi was in front of us and the stream was to our back. Maybe I could distract the wooden wolf long enough for her to get to safety across the stream. But the only doubt I had with that plan was that I remembered wolves usually traveled in packs and I wasn't sure if this azcidi did the same.

From behind me I heard Etpinego stand back up and place herself between the giant wooden wolf and myself. I couldn't believe that this female who just moments before was on the verge of a panic attack, was now facing down this giant creature with a look of determination on her face. Although a closer look at her trembling hands let me know that she was still very much afraid, just like me. I watched as she puffed out her chest and began to paw at the ground with one of her feet as I heard her yell at the creature.

"Kix fego! Kix fego! Hi'yah! (Get back! Get back! Hi'yah!)"

'Wait a minute… she's trying to protect me.' I thought to myself as she continued to face down the creature. The thought that she was going to risk her life for a complete stranger like me gave me the courage to stand back up and face this hell spawn in front of us. 'There's no way I'm going to let her do something stupid like that. I've got to get her out of here and by God I'm going to.'

The azcidi, meanwhile, just growled at her in response, narrowing its blood red eyes but not attempting to pounce at her. For a moment I thought her display would actually work, until I heard the faintest sound of rustling leaves over my left shoulder. Tilting my head my blood ran cold as I saw yet another azcidi, smaller that the first but just as ferocious, crouching on the ridge I had just came from. Its dripping jaws gapped open ready to pounce and devour us at any moment. Well at least this answered the question about them being pack hunters.

"Clever son of a bitch." I slowly said in disbelief as I heard more rustling in the underbrush from the other side. No doubt yet another one. That must mean that the one in front of us was the alpha.

The one on our left was the first to attack and I barely had enough time to raise my spear in defense. I watched as the point impacted on its shoulder before the shaft snapped in half. Not even slowing it down in the slightest as it barreled into me knocking me to the ground with its weight. I raised my hands to grab it by the jaw in an attempt to try and keep it away from me as best I could.

Panic set in as my hands grasped what I hoped was its head just to have the body above me go still momentarily before I felt the creature's full body weight fall on me. The clearing went silent above my as I started to claw at the body of wood above me, trying to get out from under this predator's body before it had time to finish me. Quickly I saw sunlight ahead of me and burst forth out from the body and stood back up. Expecting the azcidi to continue its attack I looked back down to my opponent.

To my surprise where once was a massive living creature of wood, now lay nothing more than a pile of unmoving wooden debris with me standing squarely in the middle of where its chest used to be. I looked towards Etpinego for hopefully something that would explain this turn of events, instead to find her and the alpha staring at me in unmoving silence. While Etpinego held a mixed look of relief, shock and fear the alpha held one that could only be described as pure rage. With a yelp from its jagged maw I head the other hidden pack member rush forward as it charged at an unaware Etpinego.

"Look out!" I yelled to her as I pointed behind her at the oncoming danger. I saw her turn just in time and watched as she delivered a powerful kick squarely against the alpha's jaw, sending it backwards, before I was pounced on yet again by the other pack member.

This new one pushed my chest down against the body of its fellow pack mate with one of its massive paws on my back, crushing the air from my lungs. I feebly tried to grab the foreleg and remove it, if I could, before it had a chance to bite me in a vital spot. Which taking their size into account, would pretty much be effectively anywhere. I managed to touch its leg, the roughness of the bark scraping my fingers before once again I felt the full weight of the azcidi land on me. The branches that made up its body scratching my skin slightly as the body broke up and fell apart around me to join the body of the previous one.

A sharp pain shot through my back and ribs where I had been hit as I stood up. I hoped it was only the beginning of a nasty bruise and not anything worse like a broken rib. My mind was racing on why these creatures were only attacking me before suddenly dissolving away before even attempting to finish me off. I put these thoughts to the back of my mind as I remembered Etpinego was still in danger.

Turning quickly to see how she was doing I was immediately justified in my worry as I watched the alpha swat her away with one of its mighty paws. Causing her to careen across the clearing like a ragdoll, before crashing into the base of a tree with a sickening thud. She laid still for a moment before she let out a low moan and tried to push herself up but instead fell back to the ground.

'Got to admit she's a tough one. I don't even think I'd be getting up from a hit like that.'

I didn't have time to revel in my thoughts before I remembered the alpha azcidi and heard it growl as it crept towards Etpinego's helpless form. Anger and adrenaline flared through my veins as I thought about the very real possibility of this monster taking away the only companion I had earned in this whole fucked up situation. All fear was suppressed by some primal urge to protect this defenseless woman from her threat, no matter what could happen to me.

Jumping from the carcasses of the alpha's two fallen pack mates, I rushed over to Etpinego's fallen body so as to face the oncoming predator as it began to run as well. Planting my left foot firmly on the ground, I tried to use the only weapon that I could think of that might hurt it, as I kicked my right foot forward and solidly kicked it across its head with my steel-toed boot. I'm rewarded with a loud crack as the branches that made up the left side of its face snap, damaging its left eye.

The creature yelped in pain and stepped back pawing at its damaged face. I heard Etpinego moving behind me but I dared not to look away from my opponent.

"Come on you fucking son of a bitch!" I yelled defiantly at it, hoping that it would think twice before trying again. "You wanna go again asshole! Let's go!"

Unfortunately the alpha called my bluff as it growled and looked at me with its one good eye. Staring into that fiery red pit, all I could see was absolute hatred and death before it charged once again. Hoping to finish the job I had started I lined up to kick it on the other side of the face with my other boot. It must have been expecting this as it ducked under my sweeping leg only to grab my foot in its jaws after my leg had passed. I winced in pain as I felt the teeth clamp around my foot, the thick leather and rubber sole preventing penetration but the mere pressure of its jaws hurt my foot like hell.

With a jerk of its head and body, the world became like the inside of a washing machine as I was hurtled through the air. Coming to land in bush that luckily cushioned my fall, a very prickly cushion, but a cushion none the less. Rolling to a stop I pushed myself up as swiftly as my body would let me. My left foot throbbed in pain a little as I applied weight to it, but nothing felt like it was broken as I wiggled my toes. Pushing the pain to the back of my mind I turned towards the clearing to see the alpha inching closer once again to the still dazed Etpinego, who had managed to raise herself to one elbow but had her back towards the approaching threat.

A rush of anger consumed me again as I charged towards the large azcidi releasing a primal roar to draw its attention. Turning its head to look at me, startled at my cry, I didn't give it time to react as I brought my fist down between its eyes. I felt the jolt go through my arm as my fist impacted against the alpha's skull; the cracking sound of breaking wood rang out in the clearing. As my fist continued on through the alpha's skull, I watched as its remaining eye faded away like the dying flame of a candle and its body broke apart around my arm to fall to the ground like its companion's had done before.

I stood over the pile of wood in disbelief, my breaths coming to me heavy and labored as the adrenaline began to ebb away. I looked at my shaking hands wondering what had happened. There was no way my punch was strong enough to go through its skull, and instead of standing there I should have been a chew toy at the moment. Yet other than a scrapped knuckle from the initial impact and some minor scratches from rolling in the bush nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Even the pain in my foot and back, although still lingering, was slowly fading which was a good sign that they weren't as bad as I first thought. I heard a rustling behind me, remembering the injured woman that I had risked my life to protect. Turning I saw that Etpinego had managed to turn over and was staring at me with a dazed look a trickle of blood dripping down her forehead from a cut somewhere in her hair.

As she spoke her voice came out groggily as I saw her eyes try to focus. "Alex col lec ei c'el? (What the hay are y'ah?)"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"So which way?" I asked over my shoulder to the injured woman resting against my back as the path came to a fork.

I felt her rustle a little, trying to get a better look at the path in front of us before pointing down the corridor on the left. As she rested her head against my back again I hoisted her a little higher up so as to get a better grip on her legs that were currently wrapped around my waist before continuing on down the path.

Moving along as best as I could with my cargo; I thought back to the events that had transpired ever since we were attacked in that clearing by the stream. After the demise of the pack Etpinego and I just stared at each other for what seemed like hours as we both tried to understand what had just happened. It wasn't until the trickle of blood that was going down her face reached her chin and a single crimson drop fell onto her breast that I was knocked out of my stupor.

Rushing to her side, I knelt down and reached out to cup her face; but instead she jerked her head back with a look in her eye that I could only describe as wariness.

"It's alright Etpinego," I told her in the most reassuring voice I could muster, "I'm just trying to help. You're injured." I told her gesturing to the blood on her face.

She reached a hand to her face, while keeping an eye on me, and touched the liquid there before pulling it away to look at it. Hoping that she now realized her situation I tried again to examine her injuries, and luckily this time she allowed me. Cupping her face in the palm of my hands I realized another thing about whatever species she was. What I had thought was just tanned skin was actually a layer of really fine fur whose texture reminded me of reminded me of the feel of velvet. Which raised the question again of what was she?

'Just another thing to add to my list of 'What the fucks' so far.' I bemused to myself as I pushed to the back of my mind to focus on trying to stop her bleeding.

Luckily with a quick examination and some reassuring words to help her keep calm whenever I hit a sensitive spot, the wound turned out to be just a minor laceration. Probably not even deep enough to warrant stitches, but being a head wound it was still bleeding quite heavily so I had to find a way to patch it up. Remembering my backpack I swiftly ran off into the woods back the way I had come from until I came to the tree where I had left it. Without even stopping I snatched the bag and ran back to the clearing, finding Etpinego where I had left her so abruptly with a slightly concerned look on her face at my sudden departure.

Now I didn't have any medical equipment in my bag, but I did have good ol' fashioned ingenuity and that would just have to work. Ripping open one of the many zippers I quickly started throwing items aside as I searched for the items I needed. Soon enough I found them, a clean canvas parts bag from my scrounge bag and my green fleece watch cap. Having what I needed I shoved all the other items back in before zipping it closed.

Going over to Etpinego I showed her the items in my hands as she raised a dainty eyebrow in confusion.

"Alex eol lec c'el ser e lec sel aouzl? (What the hay do y'ah plan to do with those?)" I heard her ask and even if I didn't understand the language, I still got the message that she wasn't entirely sure what I was planning.

With a sigh I placed the parts bag on top of my head and then pulled the cap over it, effectively holding the bag in place. "See, it's a bandage for your head."

Once I had demonstrated my idea to her, she gave a nod in approval as I took off the hat and handed her the canvas bag, which she placed on top of her head like I had shown her. While she continued to apply pressure with the bag I went about cleaning the blood off her face with another parts bag that I had wetted with some water from my jug. After cleaning the blood off of her face I had to pause because of the blood that had managed to drip down onto her breast, and I figured it wouldn't be prudent to start molesting her all for the sake of cleanliness.

"Uh, Etpinego…" I waited till she looked me in the eye, because with years of Air Force Sexual Assault briefings under my belt I wanted to make sure that my statement was understood. Language barrier be damned. "I think it would be best if you cleaned the rest."

She looked down at the blood on her chest as I simulated scrubbing on my chest and pointing to her supple orbs. Yet, for what seemed like an non-ending cycle ever since I had arrived in this forest, I was surprised as she instead just jutted out her chest towards me so as to give me an easier time cleaning them…I hoped. I sat stunned for a moment having never come upon such a situation like this before and my mind didn't quite know what to make of these strange but not unwanted turn of events. One side of my conscious was yelling at me that this was some kind of trap in a very familiar fictional admiral's voice, while the other side just had one thing to say…gigitty.

Figuring I might as well throw caution to the wind and logic out the window, I reached forward with the wet bag and began to go to work, all the while keeping a mental journal of this event for future use.

'Dear diary…jackpot!' I inwardly mused as I mentally patted myself on the back with each caress of those perfectly shaped globes.

Even with my good fortune I didn't want it to seem that I was being lecherous with her by taking too long. So with enough willpower to rival a Catho- Buddhist monk I finished as efficiently as possible and placed the now bloody sock back in my backpack. After all, no reason to leave trash in the forest.

Placing the bag on my back I removed her hand from the bag on top of her head to make sure that the bleeding had stopped. Once I am satisfied that the makeshift gauze had done its job in stopping the flow I placed the watchcap on top of her head over the parts bag to hold it all in place. Pleased with my first aid ability, I placed the stampede string of her cowboy hat around her neck, as we each shared a smile before I stood up and offered my hand to help her up.

As she applied weight to her right leg she let out a hiss of pain as she quickly lifted the sore foot. I helped her back down to the ground to take a look at the affected appendage. Grabbing her leg by the calf, I took a quick look at her swollen ankle, taking note of its purple color even under the tan colored fur.

I was a little loss for a moment on what to do because I still needed to get her and myself out of here but she wasn't going anywhere on that ankle. So I began running ideas through my head.

'Even if I make a splint for her ankle it's not like she is going to be able to walk on it at any decent speed, and I don't have anything I can wrap around her ankle to help with that swelling. Paracord would just cut into her ankle and would begin to hurt. But maybe I could make some kind of sled with some branches and paracord.' I thought idly to myself, 'No, that won't work in this thick of underbrush. What if I built some kind of cart? Nah, how would I make the wheels...?'

I continued running one idea after another and found each one crazier than the last as I paced back and forth muttering to myself. It wasn't until I felt a tug at my pant's leg that I paused in mid-thought about a giant wooden badger to look down at my companion who was currently looking up at me with her lips turned down in a frown and her ears splayed backwards. I knew women enough to know what that look was, she was irritated with me.

"What?" I asked a little annoyed at having my train of thought derailed, but I was still concerned about what she thought was so important enough to warrant it.

"Alex ei c'el zasun my? Ip ki moi c'el zosy fi kiss jevy qi. Ligo c'el soop ew ip ew que flex Ip Teg. (What are y'ah stalling for? Big stallion like you should be able to carry me. Heck,, you look as big as my brother Big Mac.)"

I gave a sigh as she got done with, what I could only assume was, lecturing to me about something that I was doing wrong. This language barrier was becoming a little bit of a headache as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Look Etpinego, you're a really cute… whatever you are, like smoking hot, but I have no idea what the fuck you're saying."

Growling in frustration she motioned with one of her hands to come closer. With a growl of my own at having this small female trying to boss me around, I begrudgingly took a knee before her. As soon as I was within arms reach she turned me around to where I was now facing away from her, and I felt her begin to pull at my backpack.

"Etpi! What are you doing?" I asked as she continued to tug, slowly working the bag off of my shoulders.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head as she finally worked the bag off, that she wanted me to carry her on my back. With this new information I moved my bag and her bag to my chest, using the buckles and straps on the backpack to secure it around my waist, before grabbing her hands to help her climb on. Once her arms were wrapped loosely around my neck and I had looped my arms under each of her toned thighs. When I made my way to my feet I was actually surprised at how light she felt, but contributed most of this to the bags around my front helping to counterbalance her weight.

After a brief moment to ensure that the weight was equally distributed I gave a cheeky smile to my passenger, "So where to milady?"

At this point the language barrier wasn't even an issue, as we both wished to leave our little spot by the stream. With a point and a gentle "Lex dec. (That way.)" we were on our way.

That was I guess a little over three hours and four rest stops ago, and the sun was now low in the sky and just beginning to turn a warm orange. I figured that we might have to make camp for the night soon if we didn't get out of this damned forest. Although I was a little wary to spend another night here after our last encounter with the local wildlife.

Being as neither I nor Etpinego could really talk with one another for obvious reasons, plus it seemed that the knock to her head made her a little dizzy so she mainly dozed off on my back leaving my mind to wander. At first I dwelled upon my good luck to basically have a naked woman with the body of a playmate pressed up against my back, and how certain ones of those attributes felt oh so good. But eventually I found myself dwelling on the more pressing and relevant questions to me. Like where the fuck was I?

I may not be an expert in the fields of Biology and Anthropology, but I'm sure I would have heard about animal/women hybrids with shit brick house proportions and giant zombie wooden wolves at some point in my 28 years of living; especially the busty hybrids. Being a maintainer it's no secret that we're all just a bunch of horn dogs, and there's no maintainer worth his salt in the world that wouldn't have known about a girl like Etpinego if she existed on Earth.

That in itself posed it's own questions. If I can conclude that this wasn't Earth then what was it, and how did I get here? Logically one would think falling out of a plane flying around four hundred miles per hour at an altitude of thirty-five thousand feet would kill you deader than a doornail. I should be at such an extreme level of dead that they'd have to create a new word to describe how dead I was, like… cadaverific. Yet here I was feeling perfectly fine, minus the random scratches and bruises from my previous tussle.

But if I continued to throw logic out the window it opened up a whole assload of what ifs. Maybe I was dead and this is some version of the afterlife. Or maybe I had been transported to some other planet like that piece of shit Disney movie they made a couple years back. Or maybe I was transported to a future where Etpinego's people now ruled the world and human's are being used as sex slaves, but a quick look over my shoulder at the woman who had once again fallen asleep quickly crushed that idea. I really needed to lay off the porn some… maybe… better to get out of here first before making any life changing decisions like that.

After a while though I had run out of ideas and had settled on just humming an old country song that I used to play with my dad around many a campfire growing up. The song reminded me of a life that I hoped that I would get to see again. Strangely enough I thought that I heard Etpinego humming the same song as she drifted in and out of sleep.

As we continued on, the path eventually lead to a clearing at what looked like what was hopefully the edge of the forest. My eyes followed on down the trail till I saw what appeared to be some kind of village. Said village appeared to be populated if the smoke that was rising from the thatched roofs were any indication. Unfortunately I couldn't make out much more than that due to the town being hidden behind a ridge.

"Hey Etpinego-," I spoke over my shoulder to my sleeping passenger. I waited for a moment till I felt her lift her head from my back before I nodded in the direction of the town with my own head, "- looks like we made it."

Etpinego was happy to say the least as I felt her begin to pat me on the shoulder and bounce up and down in my handgrip, "Kiss ni xivi tehvriv, el ori ai assed quio pa! Nyx spasi vaoli eh pel fi osti! (Good job there pardner, ah knew we would make it! Just a little further and ah'll be home!)"

Even though I didn't know what the hell she was saying I had to smile at her enthusiasm, and I was happy that she would soon be seeing her family and getting medical attention soon. Plus I held out a little bit of hope that I could get help here in finding a way back home.

I moved to continue towards the town, before I was suddenly blinded by a flash of white light. My first reaction was to ensure the safety of my injured charge, as I dove to the ground shielding her with my body as best I could from the light. As my vision slowly returned I could hear the shuffling sound of people behind me, before I heard a feminine voice talk sternly to me I could only guess.

"Fego haec my Etpinego eh huva qeo erc whyir siz. (Back away from Applejack and don't make any sudden moves.)"

Turning around I see that we now have a welcoming party, although their sudden appearance and look has me quite confused. There were five of them, all women it seemed, four of them were white in color and were dressed in some kind of golden armor. Bronze I could only assume because it'd be pretty impractical to be dressed in gold. They were positioned two on each side of the woman in the middle.

She looked to be about the same age and height as Etpinego and while maybe not as curvy, her body was definitely nothing to snuff at. But what really confused me about her were some of the more glaring details, detail like her lavender coloring. Her hair and tail coloring was a rich deep purple with a pink highlight streaking down the middle of both like some kind of purple skunk. Her violet colored eyes were currently narrowed at me dangerously, but even those weren't the strangest things I had seen that day. No it was the twelve inch fluted horn sticking out of her forehead and the pair of feathered wings on her back that were the same lavender color as the rest of her body; the wings that were fluttering in obvious agitation.

I was speechless for the briefest of moments before speaking the first thing that came to my mind.

"What…the…fuck."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What… the… fuck." I said aloud as I stood back up, continuing to examine these newcomers.

'That's it! This has to be somewhere in Japan. Only they could think up something as crazy as genetically mutated, multicolored, naked busty beauties. Maybe this is their version of Jurassic Park for businessmen; except for dinosaurs you have these girls.' I reasoned to myself, because right now the lavender one in front of me defied all forms of my logic. 'Seriously, I mean even those guard girls look like they could be on the cover of SI's swimsuit edition, and what's up with their outfits? Is there some kind of medieval fair going on here? Or maybe they're some kind of ceremonial guards, what with that bronze armor and those blue colored push brooms on their helmets.'

The five of them were taken aback for a moment as I stared at them. I could make out the guards gripping the shafts of their spears a little tighter. It might have been because of the fact that I easily stood head and shoulders over these women, and even though I may have thought that I could overpower them if the time came to it. I didn't want to run the risk of being skewered by those spears like a shish kabob, so I thought it would be wise to try and ease their minds on my danger to them.

"Now ladies, I don't want any trouble. I'm just looking for some help for my friend here and a way out of here." I spoke to them in as easy sounding of a voice as I could.

"Cey ger wieo? (You can speak?)" the leader, who I had decided to nickname Penelope after that cat from those old Pepe le Pew cartoons, replied in a tone best described as surprise before a smile came across her face, and I watched her attitude do a complete 180, "Cey ger wieo Equis?(Can you speak Equis?)"

The only reply I could give her was a confused look and a shrug of my shoulders, because I still didn't know what the hell any of them were saying. For all I knew she was wanting me to be some ritual sacrifice or some sort of sex slave to repopulate their species.

'Wow, really need to lay off the porn.'

Yet, unlike my encounter with Etpinego, Penelope seemed to catch on pretty fast as I saw the smile fade a little. Then she seemed to remember the blonde haired woman who was currently lying on the ground behind me. She looked like she was about to say something again but never got the chance as my vision was blocked by a rainbow. A very angry sounding, feminine rainbow.

"Lic mihr, alex lec cel aupor celev pun sel Etpinego! (Hey buddy, what do you think you're doing with Applejack!)" the angry rainbow yelled as I felt something hard poking me in the chest.

After allowing my eyes to adjust to the assault of color on my irises, I was allowed a better look at the offending thing in front of me. Lo and behold it turned out to be yet another woman, although she was a sky blue in color and had a perky little body that just screamed athlete. Her magenta colored eyes were currently burrowing into mine while one of her hard fingertips was currently trying to break through my sternum. The cyan colored wings on her back were fluttering at an almost languid pace, yet somehow defying physics and keeping her hovering about two feet off the ground so that she was looking me squarely in the eyes. The wind coming from the beating of her wings caused her prismatic hair and tail to float gently in the breeze created by each beat of her wings.

"Vemsa Hewl, zavs lex! Li ettiev av fi pualkir! (Rainbow Dash stop that! He appears to be intelligent!)" I heard Penelope yell from behind this new woman.

Part of me was hoping to all things holy that she was telling 'Skittles' here stop poking me in the chest, mainly for two reasons. First off, it was really starting to hurt. I mean I didn't know what the material that covered the last knuckle of their fingers was made up of but it was pretty hard. Secondly, it was really starting to tic me off as I could already feel the frown forming on my face.

"Ciel Hewl, li emis yu ercimir dyun. Li liptin qi alir ai nav hahgoi if sqi azcidi, eh izir texglih qi y huk isnoa qi fego. (Yeah Dash, he ain't dun nuthin wrong. He helped me when we got attacked by some timberwolves, and even patched me up and brought me back.)" I heard Etpinego say from behind me, hopefully pleading my case to these other ones. Skittles looked a little confused as she looked between Etpinego and Penelope, but continued to poke me all the same.

Okay. Now I was really starting to get pissed and I tried one more attempt at civility, "Please stop poking me."

Skittles took notice of my warning tone and replied with one of her own, "Vo, e avno ki evi c'el. Qi emrs vhep cel. (Oh, a tough guy are y'ah. I ain't afraid of you.)"

I quickly grabbed the offending hand, which must have startled her because she immediately fell back to the ground. Gritting my teeth I tried to keep my anger in check as I towered over her and brought her close enough so that our noses were almost touching.

"Stop! Poking! Me!" I told her with suppressed rage, enunciating each syllable so as to get the message even through our language barrier. I gave her hand a slight squeeze to emphasize the point, causing her to give a whimper in pain as she kept looking at me with eyes that rivaled mine in intensity.

She desperately tried to pull away from me, but my grip was too strong for her. Her wings which were once beating so slowly were now furiously thrashing about, throwing swirls of wind at me and even hitting me a few times. I heard Penelope yelling at me but I didn't pay much attention as I was trying to get my point across. Suddenly a purple light flashed from the left side of my vision, effectively breaking my concentration.

Turning towards the source of the light I found Penelope glaring at me again as the horn on her head glowed the same purple color as the light that had blinded me. The guards that were once behind her were now standing at the ready in front of her, their spears pointing directly at me.

"Pix. Liv. Ko. (Let. Her. Go.)" She said as the glow on her horn grew brighter.

Now I didn't have to be a linguist or even a rocket scientist to know what she was saying. Looking at the rainbow-haired woman out of the corner of my eye I began to contemplate letting her go for a second, but another look at the tips of those spears made me decide to let her go. Once I had released her she flew over to Penelope's side and began to whisper in her ear.

I couldn't make out what they were saying from where I was, but judging from the shocked reaction from Penelope and the now wary look that they were both giving me something told me that gaining their trust was going to be a little harder than I thought now. Part of me thought about making my way back into the forest but I figured if they could fly, then catching me would be easy. It wasn't until I heard Etpinego's voice behind me that I was broken out of my thoughts. At least she would get so help.

"Pa'w soec ip ki. C'el emrs yu ercimir dyun. (It's okay big guy. Y'ah ain't done nothing wrong.)" She spoke to me in a calming tone, her emerald eyes pleading with me. I just wish I knew for what.

With a sigh of surrender I leaned over to sling my backpack back to my back, before taking a knee in front of Etpinego. Swiftly, I picked her up in my arms bridal style, being mindful of her hurt ankle, and turned to the group before walking to them. The guards raised their spears, pointing them at my face, but a word from Penelope caused them to lower them hesitantly. Stepping past the guards and directly up to Penelope, I looked down at her as she looked up at me. She was trying to put on a brave face, but the look in her eyes and splayed ears told me all that I needed to know. She was afraid of me.

With a quick glance to Skittles I saw the same look, although she was better at hiding it. I gently set Etpinego on her good foot and waited for Penelope to support her before letting her go. Etpinego was swiftly wrapped into a warm embrace by the other two women, shielding her in a cocoon of arms and wings. I had to smile a little as the other two fussed over Etpinego's injuries and rubbed her cheeks with their own in a display of affection. Apparently she meant a lot to these two.

Now knowing that she was safe with her own kind, but figuring my display against Skittles had ruined any chances of receiving help. I turned around from Etpinego and other two so as to take my leave of the situation. Unfortunately, my progression was halted by the points of the guards spears once again, and to be honest I had had about enough of this false hostility towards me.

True I had lashed out against Skittles but that was only in reaction to the provocation that she was provoking and my retaliation only reached to the limit of stopping said provocation. Brushing the spear points away from me gently with the back of my hands I moved to leave again. The guardswomen obviously thought differently of this, as they halted me again; choosing to make their point literally as they pressed the tips against my chest. Clenching my hands into a fist my knuckles let out a popping sound as my grip tightened and I watched as their eyes widened a little.

From behind me I heard Penelope say to me something that Etpinego had said earlier.

"Alex ei cel? (What are you?)"

Looking back over my shoulder I see that Penelope is now standing almost directly behind me. Both her and Etpinego are looking at me with the same expecting eyes, while Skittles was glaring at me again as she had an arm and wing protectively wrapped around Etpinego's shoulder. I thought about ignoring them entirely and making my way through the guards, but my line of sight was distracted by some fast approaching colors from behind these three. Said colors soon turned out to be three more women approaching.

'Are there any guys in this place? Maybe the whole sex slave idea isn't as far fetched as I thought.' I had to humorously think to myself as my mind briefly turned to more lustful thoughts.

"Hi there!" A pair of blue eyes yelled at me as they appeared suddenly in front of me, almost scaring the crap out of me as I fell back on my ass.

"Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you people! Don't any of you girls know anything about personal space!" I yelled at them as I heard them giggle at my misery. That was until it clicked that whoever this new woman was, she had spoken to me…in…English.

This new woman in question reminded me of bubblegum for some odd… glaring… pink… reason. I mean that she was literally pink from her curly shoulder length hair and matching tail all the way down to her little pink toes that she was currently bouncing on. Speaking of bouncing, she had to seriously be the bounciest woman I had ever seen, human or otherwise. I was so mesmerizing to watch her bounce around that I almost forgot what she had said to me.

"Wait a minute…-" 'Bubbles' stopped hopping as I spoke and graced me with her bright blue eyes again and the biggest smile I had ever seen, "-do you speak English?"

Bubbles rolled her eyes as she blew a raspberry with her lips, "Of course not silly billy that would be ridiculous. I just know how to say 'hi' and this explanation."

I was dumbfounded as I could feel one of my eyes begin to twitch, "You can't be serious."

She cocked her head in that same confused manner that I had become very much acquainted with today, "Alex? (What?)"

With that I felt a blood vessel somewhere in my head pop as a migraine began to spread through my skull. That was the last straw as I stood up, glaring at the women currently surrounding me. I noticed the other two newcomers that had arrived with Bubbles. One was pure white, minus a highly styled purple hair and tail that formed a single flowing curl, and placed squarely on her forehead was a white horn just like Penelope's. The other one I couldn't make out much except for her long rosy pink hair and butter yellow fur, and the fact that she seemed to like to hide behind the white woman.

Penelope and the others were talking to each other off to one side, while I stayed with the guards fuming over not being allowed to leave. I could only imagine what they were talking about as I occasionally see one of them look or point in my direction. Skittles and the new white one both seemed wary, while Bubbles and Penelope seemed to be agreeing with whatever Etpinego was saying. The butter colored one didn't seem to lean one way or the other as she stayed silent and refused to look at me.

As they continued on with their debate, I was feeling quite bored and even thought about maybe trying to strike a one sided conversation with the guards. But one glance at their frowning faces made me reconsider it.

'Probably would be a boring conversation anyways.'

"Eric?" I heard Penelope say as she walked over to me. I was taken aback for a moment on how she knew my name, but quickly dismissed it; remembering that I had told it to Etpinego.

I nodded my head in agreement, which quickly caused her to smile obviously happy about such a small victory in breaking our language barrier. Expecting her to just start rambling on in their language again, I was surprised when she begins to use her hands to act out what she was trying to say. Clever girl.

"Mu aohurz my liptpun sy mymir Etpinego. Ai assed moi my cel e qis sel yew e sy zempeki. (In thanks for helping our friend Applejak. We would like for you to come with us to that village.)" Penelope said while pointing between Etpinego and myself before making a walking motion with two of her fingers and pointing to the town in the distance.

Relieved that they were still willing to help me I gave her a grateful nod, to which she graces me with a smile that almost rivaled Bubbles in intensity. She then gave a command to the guards, who are quick to obey and formed a perimeter around me. Whether for my safety or theirs I'm not sure but I decide to stay ignorant to the truth on it. Penelope then had everyone stand around her as I watched her horn glow a bright purple again, which spread out till it had enveloped everyone in its light.

Then in the same flash of light that heralded their arrival, they were gone leaving me alone in the clearing. Looking around at my open surroundings I found myself a shocked and a little hurt at being ditched by these women right after they seemed so willing to help. That was when my unbreakable wall of control finally burst.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I threw up my arms in frustration, "You know what? Fuck this place! Damn women have been nothing but trouble since I meet them!"

Frustrated and angry at everything and in desperate need of something alcoholic, I began to pace back and forth ranting about all my misfortunes.

"First I have to get sucked out of a perfectly good plane to land in some God forsaken forest; which would have been fine because at least I was still alive. But then I have to come across some hybrid pinup girl taking a bath in a stream and struttin' her stuff for the whole damn world to see. Not that I'm complaining about that, because she has a world class body. But it couldn't have just been that, but nooo. We had to be attacked by fucked up wooden wolves on steroids and I had to be used like their own personal chew toy. Only for them to just up and fall apart like a Jenga tower.

"Then a moment of chivalrous weakness and bouncing bosoms, I had to help her out of the woods in hopes of finding help in getting out of here. Instead I come across the land of Mutated-Multicolored-Medieval-Naked-Amazons that only seem interested in annoying me and making me a kabob. And to top it all off just when it seems that they might actually help me they instead dump me like some kind of prom night dumpster baby, without so much as a thank you!"

By now I was breathing heavily as my anger calmed down and my mask of control made its way back on to my face. I was about to say "fuck it" and continue down the road till I found someone who was willing to help me, when I was blinded by another flash directly in front of me knocking me on my ass as spots floated in my eyes. Penelope stood before me again with her guards with an almost embarrassed look on her face.

"I wish you would stop doing that." I told her as I stood back up rubbing my eyes before crossing my arms and setting her with a stern look, "What do you want now?"

She began to play with a few strands of her hair, all signs of her confidence from earlier gone as she looked at everything but my eyes.

"Wys hivba lex. (Sorry about that.)" She whispered in a quiet voice.

Seeing that poor mood had upset her unsettled me, so I let out a sigh trying to release my tension from earlier as I laid a hand on her shoulder. Her body jumped a little at the touch and her eyes immediately locked onto mine as I give her a reassuring smile and a gently squeeze on her shoulder.

"Sorry for snapping at you. Friends?" I asked as I held out my other hand.

She seemed to perk up a little by seeing that I wasn't upset at her as she shook my hand. Figuring it was the best time to get introductions out of the way I pointed to myself like I did with Etpinego.

"Eric Broussard."

"Wypujil Xamspona Tevopi. (Princess Twilight Sparkle.)" Was her reply when I pointed to her.

I had to scratch my head at that, "Good grief girl that's a mouthful. Do you have a shorter name?"

I tried to emphasize my point by pointing to her and then making a small gap between my open palms meaning small. After a few times it clicked and she let out a cute little giggle.

"Xam. (Twi.)"

Smiling I extended my hand again which she took in one of her own and shook it gently, "Hi Xam."

"Hai Eric." She replied with a smile and part of me knew I was still in store for more surprises.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The walk to the town was luckily uneventful, especially after my first encounter with these women. After introducing myself to Xam she began to lead us down the road with her gilded guard forming a perimeter around us. As we walked, I tried to take in the sights of my new surroundings, because by that point I was pretty much positive this wasn't Earth or at least not the Earth I was familiar with.

Also it was a reason to not to find myself blatantly starring at Xam's round little ass as it bounced along. A couple of times I thought my stealthy approach was blown when she would look back in my direction. She would look like she wanted to say something but instead would just look forward again.

After about a mile of walking we finally made it to the town, just as the sun dipped below the horizon. The town itself was very quaint, in a very English village type of way. The buildings were thatched roof cottages of different colors, with the occasional store settled amongst them. The signs hung outside each individual store with a picture and writing telling potential customers what they sold inside. The writing on the signs kind of reminded me of something like runes, but still seemed familiar to me somehow.

The townsfolk were concluding their business for the day as I saw families walking home. I was happy to see that the world was not full of just women as a father walked his daughter home. Yet I was dumbstruck that everyone young and old, male and female was as naked as the day they were born. Sure, there were some that wore an occasional tie, hat, or some other accessory item, but for the most part everyone was as naked as a jaybird. Luckily enough though, the anatomy of the guys didn't have certain features flailing about for the viewing public, I took this as a small victory and thanked any deity listening for it.

'This is going to take some getting used to.' I thought to myself as I watched an older gentleman light the streetlights with the horn on his head.

I stood there in the middle of the street with my hands hooked into the straps of my backpack, trying to take in this strange new nudist society. I don't rightly know how long I was standing there, and it wasn't until I felt a hand touch my own that I came to. When I looked down I saw Xam staring at me with a concerned look.

"Ei cel soec? (Are you okay?)" she asked as she looked to see what had caught my attention, but obviously didn't see anything amiss as I watched her ears twitch and she looked back at me a little confused.

I mentally shook myself out of my stupor and gave her a reassuring nod as I noticed some of the townsfolk taking notice of us. Most of them just looked confused at me while some parents took a hold of their children, so as to steer them away from us. I could only assume it was because I was the first human they had ever seen, but it also might have been because my fully clothed nature was just as strange to them.

Xam turned back around and continued down the street again as the guards and I took steep behind her. Once the townsfolk took notice of Xam I noticed all of them began to bow in her direction as I watched her wings flare in what I could only guess was a sort of display. I had had my suspicions that Xam was maybe some kind of military leader, what with how the guards responded to her commands so eagerly. But I slowly began to think that maybe her position was higher and maybe more civil in nature, like maybe a chieftain or something with the amount of respect that the populace was showing her. Plus I noticed that she was the only one with both a set of wings and a horn out of the people I saw. Maybe being born with both of them was a sign of rank, I didn't know but it was something for me to think over at the time.

We walked on until we came to a Victorian-styled three story building. The outside was a rich dark blue with white trim framing the edges and the windows, while a set of double doors made of a dark wood marked the entrance. The sign out front showed the same strange script surrounding a picture of a couple of pillows, bringing me to believe that this was some kind of inn or lodge. Xam walked up to the double doors as one of the guards opened it up for her and took post by the open door.

Inside as I removed my cap and shoved it in one of my cargo pockets I saw a large wooden counter placed in the middle of the room with a set of staircases on either side of it, leading to the higher floors. Above the hand carved desk hung a very old looking crystal chandelier, each crystal twinkling from the candlelight behind them. Behind the desk stood an older winged gentleman who was dressed in a simple looking white dress shirt with a sharp looking black bowtie. I assumed he was wearing some sort of pants, but considering what I had seen so far in this town I wasn't about to peer over the counter to find out. Upon seeing Xam he gave a warm smile and a quick bow, his amber eyes twinkling behind his spectacles.

"Aipsqi fego Wypujil. Mi sti cel el celv irxivski ei luscpun celv wec mu uymix zempeki? (Welcome back Princess. I hope you and your entourage are enjoying your stay in our quiet village?)" He spoke to her in a jovial tone.

She returned the little bow with a nod of her head and smiled back at him as she replied to his greeting. Obviously not understanding what they were talking about I decided to excuse myself from the conversation and take in more of my surroundings. The clanking sound of dishware and idle conversations drew my attention to the left to look at the next room over. Looking through the doorway from where I stood at the counter I saw what appeared to be a small café that was no doubt part of the hotel, luckily it seemed that none of the patrons had taken notice of us. Back in the far corner of the room, sitting around one of the white table clothed tables, was Etpinego and the other women from earlier.

I was broken out of my idle gazing, by a nudge from behind. Looking back I saw one of the guards motioning to me with her head to the right towards one of the staircases. Xam was whispering to one of the other guards, who nodded swiftly before taking up the empty spot around me as they led me up to stairs while Xam headed into the cafe by herself.

The second floor was full of rooms that went around the perimeter of the floor with the center of the room void of flooring to allow visitors to look down on the floor below, and the chandelier now hung suspended in the center of the room at eye level. The guards led me along to a room on the backside of the building before opening the door and motioning me inside.

Once inside I had a look at my accommodations. The inside was quaint and comfortable like a bed and breakfast, but not overly expensive looking. A queen sized bed sat on the far side of the room flanked on either side by a nightstand and lantern. Off to the right of the door sat a chair and a small desk, stationary sitting on top of it in a neat pile. While in the left corner was an upright dresser that stood next to a closed door, which I hoped lead to some kind of bathroom.

I un-shouldered my backpack and dropped it by the door before I turned around to thank the guards when two of them walked into the room with me and began to get settled in, mainly removing their armor. One of the two remaining guards that stood out of the room motioned towards the closed door inside the room. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke and I could almost feel the disdain in her voice.

"Fexli Eric, eol Wypujil azoli cel e nup liv eh eol vaoly Imique Fieviv. (Bathe Eric, the Princess wishes you to join her and the other Element bearers.)" Her voice was calm but held no room for questions. Too bad I didn't know what she was saying so I didn't really care at that point, especially after my current interactions with these four.

"Look lady, are you really expecting these other two to stay in here? Because I'm sure I can take care of myself." I told her as I thumbed over my shoulder at the other two, who's breastplates were being removed.

"Fexli. (Bathe.)" She said again as she thumped the base of her spear against the floor to help drive her point across.

I held up my hands in mock surrender as I thought about how universally stubborn women were, "Alright, but I'm not going to be held responsible for you leaving two naked women in here with me."

"Fexli. (Bathe.)" She said again as she closed the door in my face.

After I gave my scalp a scratch and took a breath to clear my mind, I turned around to face the other two women who were left in the room. Maybe they would be easier to reason with then their cohort. The other two were at that moment removing their greaves, and as soon as that last piece of armor was removed they transformed before my eyes. Where once stood two white furred women, who looked close enough to be sisters, now stood two that couldn't be any more different.

The one on the left was orange with a blue hair and a tail and her eyes glowed a golden yellow in the dimly lit room. While the other was a sky blue coloring like Skittles was but her hair color was the whitest I had ever seen. Her deep blue eyes looking at me as she crossed her arms under her chest and nodded towards the door like the other had moments before.

"Fexli. (Bathe.)"

Obviously communication with these guards was not going to happen so I figured I might as well have some fun with it if I could. "Alright ladies I'll go in there, but I'll let you know this isn't my first three-way."

They just looked at me confused, obviously unaware at what I had said. I tried to hold it in as I walked to the closed door but as soon as I touched the handle and glanced back at the two their looks were too much for me as began to laugh my ass off. Once they realized I had made a joke at their expense they both began to scowl at me.

"Kix mu xivi! (Get in there!)" the orange one yelled as she pointed at the door.

Still laughing I opened the door to see that the room was indeed a bathroom. The décor followed the same Victorian style that the rest of the building did. A large white claw-footed bathtub stood in the corner with a brass shower attachment rising from the faucet. A pair of navy blue shower curtains hung from the curtain rod suspended from the roof that overhang from the tub. A single sink with cast fixtures rested on the other side of the room in front of a mirrored medicine cabinet. The room was lit by lateern fixtures placed on the walls casting the room in a bright glow. While a toilet took up center position between the tub and sink.

I went to close the door but was stopped when the blue one stopped me, "Oit pa stir. (Keep it open.)"

"You want the door open?" I asked as I tried to close it again only to be stopped by her again as she repeated the phrase and pushed the door open all the way, "Alright, but I usually don't do free shows."

It wasn't like I was afraid to get undressed in front of the women. Military life and many a one night stand had pretty much gotten rid of any insecurities about nudity a long time ago. Plus they were all nude anyways and I figured, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans.'

I pulled my hat out of my cargo pocket so as to deposit the contents of my other pockets in it. Once that was done I took off my reflective belt and RAB placing them in the hat as well. Part of me worried about the security of the RAB along with my military I.D., but I didn't think they had any interest in such things or they didn't know about them because they hadn't searched me for them earlier. Still I would keep a close eye on the hat just incase. Taking off my blouse and shirt I folded them and placed them on top of my hat before sitting on top of the toilet lid to remove my boots and socks.

Once my boots were off I stood back up and began to undo my belt as I caught movement in the mirror to my left. I turned my head to see the two women watching me from the bed where they sat. I could see they were trying to be inconspicuous about it but were failing miserably. With a wink and a smile that made my peeping toms look away I finished undressing and jumped in the shower.

I made quick work in the shower, letting the hot water and soap wash away all the sweat and grime from the past few days. After the shower I turned off the shower as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. Grabbing another towel I dried myself off as I walked over to the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. Other than a small cut on my right cheek and a jaw full of stubble I didn't have any signs that I had been in a struggle with nature for the past couple of days for my very life.

I ran a hand through the stubble admiring the ruggedness of it but I knew that I was in need of a shave as soon as I could get one. When I opened one of the drawers I found a pair of complementary toothbrushes and a tube of what I hoped was toothpaste. Taking the tube I squeezed some on the toothbrush and began to clean the funk out of my mouth all the while hoping it wasn't some kind of hemorrhoid cream or something; at least it had a minty taste.

Finished with my grooming I walked out of the bathroom, flashing a smile to the two on the couch as I passed, and grabbed the pair of shorts and t-shirt from my backpack and quickly threw them on. I turned around to still see the orange and blue guardswomen sitting there watching me, honestly it was funny at first but now it was becoming a little annoying.

"Can I help you?" I asked them as I hoped for no more weirdness today, "If not then can I please get a piece of that bed?"

The orange one looked at me as a small smirk crossed her lips, which for some reason unsettled me, before she pointed to the bedroom door, "Eol Wypujil mo aempun. (The Princess is waiting.)"

I stepped closer to the two as they continued to smirk at me until I was almost touching their knees and I leaned over into their faces. "Look here girls, it's been a very long and weird day for me and I would just like to get some sleep. So if you don't mind, move your asses."

My hand reached out to move the two women but was met with the sharp point of a knife against my neck. The blue one pointed to the door again with that same cocky smirk,"Eol Wypujil mo aempun. (The Princess is waiting.)"

About that time I found myself heavily reconsidering my 'no hitting women' rule, at least when it came to these guardswomen, and maybe Skittles. I knew that most of my frustration stemmed from out lack of good communication, but I couldn't get over the feeling that these guards had some kind of grudge against me. Either way, I was raised that you don't threaten someone unless you were willing to deal with the consequences woman or not.

When I saw the two share a quick glance, probably being a little smug at having outsmarted their unwitting charge over something, I grabbed the offending wrist and twisted it. The orange woman let out a yelp of pain as her grip on the blade loosened enough for me to take it from her. I took a step back before they could retaliate and watched as the orange one rubbed her sore wrist. The bedroom door swung open as the other two, still white, still armed guards burst in.

Not wanting them to think the wrong idea, like I was trying to attack them or make an escape, I threw the knife onto the pillows of the bed before I tried to walk out the room to the hallway so as to remove myself from the situation and calm down. Unfortunately I didn't get to leave the room as the one from earlier stopped me with a hand on my chest. Having finally had enough with their attitude and the stress from the past few days I grabbed her wrist before I twisted it like I had done with the orange one moments before.

The result was the same as she gave a whimper and fell to her knee as she tried to pry my hand away with her other hand. I watched as her white wrist turned black which quickly spread down her arm like liquid ink and soon consumed her whole body. It continued on to her hair, turning the blonde strands shiny silver. Finally I watched as her watery blue eyes dissolve into a deep forest green.

Surprised and shocked by this sudden change I immediately let go of her wrist, which she swiftly cradled to her chest. No sooner than I had released her did she change back into her original white coloring. It was one thing to see the other two change color when they removed their armor, that as crazy as it sounded I could half-way accept. But to sit and watch as my touch caused the change to happen, I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I thought that maybe they could change their appearance at will, but one look at the taken aback expressions of the other three told me that the girls change wasn't supposed to happen. I looked back at my hand before looking at the woman on the floor as I tried to put the pieces together, but I was interrupted by the blue one as she repeated a phrase that seemed to be a normal phrase with these women.

"Alex eol lec ei cel? (What the hay are you?)"

They were as confused as me on what was going on, yet I was on the verge of a mental breakdown trying to wrap my mind around what was going on. Lost in a strange land with these people, not being able to understand them, being treated as an unknown threat, and now my touch has the ability to dissolve wooden wolves and somehow turn women into fucking chameleons. I needed answers and the only person I could think would have an answer would be a leader in this community, someone like Xam. With a small detour to my backpack I grabbed my flip-flops and made my way out of the room, leaving the four women in shock.

Before I knew it I had made my way down the stairs and past the front desk, ignoring the counterman and made my way into the adjoining café. I scanned the restaurant quickly and spotted her sitting with Etpinego and the others from earlier at the same corner table. It looked like they were enjoying dinner and were having a conversation. Now I know it might have been considered rude to interrupt your host, but at that moment in time I wanted answers and I didn't give a flying fuck about etiquette.

I stormed my way over to them and Etpinego saw me approaching as she gave me a wave, but I was too angry to worry about returning it. I had almost reached their table when I was tackled to the ground. The conversations in the café went silent as all the patrons were entranced by the spectacle that was going on. I managed to throw whatever was on my back off of my as I tried to make my way back to my feet, only to be knocked back down as arms wrapped their way around my limbs. I could only guess on who they belonged to.

From my position on the floor I could see Xam and the others rise from their chairs, as Xam made her way over to me till she stood in front of me. Normally looking up at a beautiful nude woman as she stands above me would have elicited some kind of sexual remark, but at that moment I was too unstable for that.

"What the fuck is wrong with me? Where am I and why is this weird shit happening to me?" I almost growled at her.

Xam meanwhile, chose to ignore me as she addressed the guards on my back, "Piyxerex Pyvu Tiev, alex mo eol qierpun fao moz? (Lieutenant Iron Spear, what is the meaning of this?)"

I heard the white, or black, or whatever one reply to Xam, and watched as Xam's eyes widened a little before she looked down on me as a collective gasp was heard throughout the café. Which was shortly followed by more hushed whispering. Xam seemed about to say something before a small flash happened in front of her, leaving what looked like a rolled up scroll floating in the air surrounded by a faint yellow glow.

Xam quickly grabbed the scroll and began to read through it silently before she looked down at me briefly before addressing the guards.

"Piyxerex, pix lev ko. (Lieutenant let him go.)"

"Iba, Wypuji… (But Princess…)" The guard immediately responded in a pleading tone, but was cut off by Xam.

"Lec uva ubizapu qi, Piyxerex. (Do not question me Lieutenant.)"

"Que cel azol, Wypujil. (As you wish Princess.)" The guard replied as her and the others removed themselves from me, and allowed me to get up.

As I straightened my clothes and dusted myself off, I was about to thank Xam when she thrust the scroll at me. Confused I grabbed the scroll and took a look at it. Written at the top was the same strange writing that I had seen on the signs outside, but it was what written on the bottom that drew my attention. There handwritten in elegant cursive was a single phrase written in English.

'Follow the one who hands this to you for answers.'


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next day found me on a train as we rode to destinations unknown. While the others conversed amongst themselves, I found myself content to stare out the window at the passing scenery. Pristine farmlands and wilderness passed by at a steady pace, only visible for a few moments before they were gone in the ever-changing backdrop. The monotony of the moment allowed my mind to wander on the events since last night.

After I had read the message on the parchment I tried to ask Xam for answers, but once again my attempts were in vain as I only succeeded in making myself look like an idiot as I flailed my arms around as I tried to act out my words. The only information I could get was a phrase the Xam would repeat over and again in her sentences as she tried to calm me down.

"Wypujil Gilzia. (Princess Celestia.)"

I didn't know for sure if this 'Wypujil Gilzia' was a person or a place, but I assumed that it had to be a person by the word 'Wypujil.' A word that I had heard Xam referred to numerous times since the moment I had met her. Either way I hoped that whoever it was could answer my questions about what was going on. Because honestly I didn't know how much more of this weirdness I could take.

Once I had been disappointed in my quest for some kind of answer, Xam had motioned for me to take a seat at the table with her and the others. Yet even though my stomach was growling from not having a good meal in a couple of days, I just didn't have the urge to deal with the situation anymore. So with a slow shake of my head I turned to return to my room and was swiftly blocked by the four guards briefly before Xam called them off and thankfully let me on my way. I shot the girls a small smile as my only sign of thanks before wandering out of the café as I heard the muffled whispers of the other customers as I passed.

As soon as I had reached the room I didn't waste any time as I shucked my flip-flops by the door and threw my shirt on my backpack before I collapsed on the bed. No sooner than did my head hit the downy pillow I was off to the land of dreams.

Next morning I awoke to a warm weight resting on my arm as my nerves tingled from the pressure. I opened my eyes to the darkness of the room; the sun apparently hadn't yet risen for the day so I had no idea of the time. Reaching my free hand over to the numb arm to remove the weight from it I was met with something soft. I pushed on the weight and heard a soft moaning sound in return. Confused, I ran my hand along the object until I was met with something soft yet firm and very familiar. Another moan was heard as I squeezed the object, and immediate recognition washed over me at what was on my arm.

One of the guards must have fallen asleep on the bed to catch some sleep at the end of their shift and accidentally rolled over onto my arm. Using my freehand I managed to roll her enough to remove my arm, which soon filled with the pins and needles feeling as blood rushed back into the appendage. I gritted my teeth so as to not yell and wake the sleeping woman next to me, and through no small feat of will I was able to accomplish my goal. Yet now that my arm was free another issue began to present itself as I felt a movement on the mattress behind me and a strange arm draped over my waist.

Now even though I might have still been half asleep at the time my mind could still do simple math. Two arms of my own, plus one woman lying in bed in front of me, plus an arm around my waist equals… I cautiously looked over my shoulder to find the orange guard from last night peacefully sleeping there, which meant that the blue one must have been the one who was on my arm earlier.

'Alright Eric you've been in tougher situations than this before.' I thought to myself as I turned back to the blue woman sleeping in front of me, 'You're the meat in a naked woman sandwich, which while pretty awesome, doesn't help the fact that you really need to take a piss right now. Now these girls may look like saints now but you already know how they act when they're awake; so the question is how to get out of this bed without waking them?'

I tried to look around the moonlit room for an escape path out of this trap of arms and legs. Yet every squirm and movement I made only caused the orange one to tighten her grip around my waist and the blue one to roll over and drape her arm over my chest as I eventually made my way onto my back. As grand as it was being these two women's life size teddy bear, that urge to use the bathroom was reaching near critical levels.

'Well desperate times call for desperate measures.' I thought as a final crazy idea came to mind.

I began to run my fingers softly against their thighs and hips, to which I was rewarded with a content moan from the two. After a moment of focusing on their hips I moved my fingers around to their lower backs and they responded as I had hoped and rolled away from me as their bodies subconsciously attempted to follow my touch. Before I could even give them a chance to realize it, I had shot out of the bed like a jack-in-the-box. As I reveled in my small victory silently, I looked back to the bed just to make sure that my escape hadn't awoken them. The two women just rolled back to the center of the bed where I had been moments before and used each other as a substitute for my missing body heat as I watched them embrace and settle back into deep sleep. I would have stayed and admired the view longer but I had more 'pressing' matters to attend to.

After completing my morning business I made my way out of the room as I wanted to attempt to try and rummage up some grub before my stomach decided to eat through my spine. Once down the stairs I went into the café, whose doors were luckily open, and took a look around. The place was empty, save for one lone winged figure asleep at a table by the fireplace at the back of the room.

Once I got closer to the figure I realized it was Xam, her face cheek down on an open book while papers and quills were strewn about on the tabletop. I didn't want to wake her because she looked like she had been up late, but she also looked a little uncomfortable and it would have only been right for her to be in her bed.

"Xam? Xam," I said as I gently shook her shoulder "come on let's get you to bed."

With a twitch of her wings I watched as her eyes slowly opened before she immediately shut them again and let out a low moan.

"Oh, alex apqi mo pa? (Oh, what time is it?)" she said slowly as she rubbed her eyes.

"Nooo, Eric remember?" I smiled as I joked a little at her expense as she let out another moan; obviously she wasn't a morning person.

"Eric? Ale-! (Eric? Wha-!)" she said as I watched the realization dawn on her face before she bolted up and fell over the back of her chair, "Ow."

I had a good laugh at her expense as she rubbed her sore rump, which only earned me a small scowl as she looked away from me embarrassed. After having my fill of jovialness I helped her back to her feet and I glanced at the documents and books on the table hoping to make heads or tails out of it all.

"Whatcha working on?" I asked as I picked up a graph.

Even without knowing what I was saying Xam still seemed to understand the question as she stood beside me and looked at the graph that I was holding. "Mi aew acpun e wi mao xivi aew a dec e spzi eol perkeki pzwyi zs ai ger xepo sel cel. Iba eol spiyevc livi mu Qeriwbyn hisu'a lezi eol wynoa fsow mirih e gospixi que viwiegl. Xivimo zsqiaopun efsyx osa eol Qekth eol Levyvue hsivu'a wiit e gurilja sel cel moi eol viw fao yew. Izir ra mi ger wi pa zova pun haec myst cel. (I was trying to see if there was a way to solve the language issue so we can talk with you. But the library here in Manesburg doesn't have the right books I need to complete my research. There's something about how the Magic of Harmony doesn't seem to connect with you like the rest of us. Even now I can see it shooting away from you.)"

I saw a glowing coming from Xam out of the corner of my eye and I dropped the paper as I turned to see her horn glow a faint purple while her eyes were bathed in white light. She reached her hand out towards me, but paused before pulling it back nervously, or it was me who backed away from her I wasn't sure.

"Ma moi e aye zsqiaopun, mao cel lecu'a puk? (I'd like to try something, if you don't mind?)" she asked me hesitantly.

I knew that she was asking for something and I paused momentarily wondering if I should trust the now glowing woman. Yet I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and nodded my acceptance because other than the guards, and maybe Skittles, they hadn't given me any reason to doubt them.

Slowly her hand reached out towards my bare chest, but she paused again just centimeters from my skin before gathering the courage to close the final distance between us. The change was almost instantaneous as the glow from her horn and eyes disappeared back to their normal states. Just like the previous times I felt nothing different from the contact other than the feeling of her hard smooth fingertips against my skin. She pulled her hand back like she had been burned and looked between me and her hand, confusion and worry laced across her face, but with another glow from her horn she let out a sigh of relief.

"Eqedpun… (Amazing…)" she breathed out before she went to the table and grabbed a quill and a clean piece of parchment before she furiously began to scribble stuff down.

As I watched her write away I saw the letter from last night in the pile and picked it up before getting Xam's attention again, "Xam can Gilzia get me home."

She looked confused at the mention of Gilzia but when she saw the letter I was holding she put down the quill and looked a little downtrodden. Even though we couldn't talk she seemed very good at understanding what I was trying to say, at least that's what I wanted to think because it made our conversations less confusing for me. "Mi lecu'a orsa. (I don't know.)"

Her mood told me everything even without knowing what she had said and I could feel the feeling of uncertainly and depression start to come over me again. I sat the letter back down as I took a seat across from her at the table. Xam looked like she was searching for something encouraging to say or do, but I didn't need her worrying over me because it didn't do anyone any good to solve the problem. So with a reassuring smile I tried to change the subject. Luckily I didn't have to as Etpinego walked into the café yawning. She smiled when she saw Xam and me but it faded slightly as she probably picked up on the down atmosphere.

"Tuvypun c'ela xas. Mo zsqiaopun' eoe qexiv? (Mornin y'all two. Is somethin' the matter?)"

"Uv, uv uvapun ex eps. (No, no nothing at all.)" Xam replied as she put on a smile; I could only hope she was trying to reassure Etpinego.

Etpinego looked between the both of us with disbelief written all over her face. Her blonde tail twitched subconsciously, but she thankfully left whatever was bugging her go and came to join us at the table and rubbed her belly.

"Mi zybl gysph ko sy zsqi epti tergeoiw aoz tuvypun'. (I sure could go for some apple pancakes this mornin'.) "

Xam seemed to agree with whatever Etpinego had said when my stomach let out a loud growl. The two women looked at me briefly before they began to bust out laughing at me.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up." I told them as I crossed my arms and gave them a little glare, "Let's see you survive on jerky and nuts for a few days and not be starving."

Etpinego waved a hand in apology to me as she wiped a tear from her eye, "Wys Eric soop moi ce'lei efsyx ew lyrvc ew e thuagyvi sel e avaolegli. Pix qi wi mao mi ger vyaxpi yew zsqi nyvi. (Sorry Eric, looks like you're about as hungry as a manticore with a toothache. Let me see if I can rustle us some grub.)" And with that she got up from the table and walked into the kitchen.

As she walked away I noticed that she wasn't limping nor did she seem to be in any pain from her injury from yesterday. I was relieved that she obviously felt better, but was a little surprised at the speed of her recovery. With how swollen her ankle looked yesterday I figured she would have been off it for at least a week. Yet there she was walking just fine, swaying that firm backside back and forth like nothing was ever wrong.

Xam must have caught me watching Etpinego a little too long because she let out a suppressed cough, breaking my concentration on that apple bottom. When I looked towards Xam she gave me a disapproving look.

"What? I was just making sure she was feeling better? Plus if all of you girls are going to walk around naked, it's only natural that I'm going to look at the goods. Any man that says he won't is either lying or gay." I said defensively as she rolled her eyes.

After that we both sat in silence as I began to dwell on my situation again. What would I do if I couldn't find a way back to where I was from? I would more than likely have to find someway of making a living but as what? What kind of job could an aircraft maintainer get in a place like this? Mechanically speaking, this place was very pre-Industrial Revolution yet they still had the occasional modern technology like the video game system I had seen in a shop window last night as I entered the town. So maybe if they had electronics they also had other mechanical things I was used to, and if not I could also get a job as a hired hand in some kind of manual labor job.

Then there was the language barrier that I would have to overcome before I could do any of that, and if those four years of Spanish I took in high school was any indicator then that was going to be very difficult. That brought about another thought of where I was going to stay until I could garner the skills necessary to work in this strange society? I couldn't possibly impose upon these girls who had taken me in after the forest, it just wouldn't be right. Maybe I could do something for them to help them out to help cover my rent.

And what about my enlistment? Even though I was probably no longer on Earth I was still a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force with a little over two years on my current enlistment left, and I had taken an oath that I would never betray. Lost in an alien world or not I was still an American Airman. In the end it was a very daunting and challenging path ahead of me.

I was lost in my thoughts and barely noticed that the other girls from yesterday had walked in. Xam introduced each of them in turn as I stood and shook their hands; all except the light yellow woman, named Paxxila, who continued to hide behind her friends. Even Skittles, who was actually named Vemsa Hewl, shook my hand even though she still was very defensive around me as I would find her looking at me with a hawk like gaze every time I looked at her. After the introductions were over Etpinego came back in with a waitress behind her, who swiftly handed out menus to everyone. It seemed that luck was shining down on me this morning as the menu was mostly illustrated, and while some items looked foreign to me there were still quite a few that were familiar like pancakes and eggs.

Once the waitress made her way to me I simply pointed to the picture of the waffles with a couple of eggs and a glass of orange juice. She seemed a little perplexed on why I pointed as opposed to telling her, but she didn't bring it up as she smiled and moved onto the next order. As she moved on to Etpinego I noticed that Xam was scribbling down something in a notebook but decided to not think more on it at that moment. The rest of breakfast was uneventful except when it came to the bill when, to my embarrassment, the girls had to cover my tab which they almost seemed too happy to do for some reason.

After the meal I made my way back to my room to get dressed back in my uniform for the trip I assumed we were going on if I read the girls actions from last night correctly. Part of me didn't really want to put on the dirty uniform because it had three days of sweat and funk embedded in it. Yet part of me felt that if I was going to meet an official or someone of importance that it was proper etiquette to be in my military uniform.

Upon entering my room I found the two guards still embracing each other as the sunlight had just begun to shine through crack in the curtains. Hoping not to wake them still I sneaked my way to the bathroom, to where I had left my uniform the night before, only to find it missing. My ID and RAB and wallet and other things that were in my pockets were still sitting there in my hat, but the rest of my clothes from yesterday were nowhere to be found. After I had given the room a thorough look over and still not finding the lost clothes, I went to the bed to wake the two guards. Maybe they were playing some sort of prank on me for making fun of them last night or even worse they desired my uniform for some other means.

I shook the orange woman by the shoulder and she eventually opened her golden eyes slowly before giving a yawn which woke up the blue one.

"Alex? (What?)" she said as she stifled another yawn.

"No, Eric." I replied without thinking before mentally slapping myself for making the stupid pun and decided to continue on before they caught on, "Where are my clothes?"

They looked confused at me as I stood and rubbed the bridge of my nose, 'It's too early for this shit.'

I went and grabbed my shirt that I had discarded the night before and held it up for them to see before pointing to the open bathroom door, "Where are my clothes?"

"Taw Vevmay loop celv valoew sy pierpun. (Miss Rarity took your clothes for cleaning.)" The blue guard said as she raised her arms above her head and stretched her back, giving me a great view of her tits causing me to look away lest I lost focus.

I couldn't make out most what she had said but one word stuck out to me 'Vevmay' for that had been the name of the white-furred woman with the curled purple hair and tail. I gave the two guards a quick thanks as I bolted to the door, swinging it open to find the woman in question standing there, my clothes nestled in one of her arms while the other was raised to knock.

"Oh, Eric, (Oh, Eric,)" she said startled by my sudden actions before regaining her composure and began to speak in an almost haughty tone, "Mi wea osa kapvyc celv valoew leh figsqi ciwxivhec, uva e izir qirxmur wiptzl fao cel lezipun e spil mu lex hviehys vivza. Zs mi highih e pier xliq ew e shepp xsoir sy aohurz my wezipun Etpinego. (I saw how dirty your clothes had become yesterday, not to even mention the smells of you having to live in that deadful forest. So I decided to clean them as a small token of thanks for saving Applejack.)"

She levitated the clothes to me as she spoke, the clothes and her white horn glowing a soft blue, as I wordlessly took them the glow disappearing instantly as I touched the fabric. She continued to talk about something, being very dramatic in her actions as I checked over my clothes. They were clean and I meant really clean. Being a maintainer my uniforms, even when washed, never were fully devoid of grime and stains after the first wear; though each dirty knee and oil stain and tear was worn with pride as I would watch the plane that I had toiled on take off. But now they were all gone every last one like it had never been there, and needless to say I was colored impressed.

When I came upon my underwear I heard Vevmay go quiet as she took notice of them. I looked to see her white cheeks tinge a light shade of pink as she smiled and I assumed to try and play it off.

"Aips Hevppun, pa assedrux lec togl kiss e lec e nif lesmaec. (Well Darling, it wouldn't do much good to do a job halfway.)" She said as she rolled a hand in the air as if trying to explain something.

I gave her a wide smile and a curt nod of my head, "Well thank you very much Miss Vevmay."

"Aips mi zlep wi cel mu e spasi fam. (Well I shall see you in a little bit.)" She said as she turned to leave and gave a little wave over her shoulder.

I watched her leave for a moment, as I admired her smooth soft curves, especially the dimples in her lower back, before I went back into my room to get dressed for the day.

That was around four hours ago by my best guesstimation. Although this was yet another time that I wish that I had had a watch to be sure. Being as we maintainers were not allowed to wear watches with exposed metal for safety purposes, most of us didn't wear any to begin with just to be safe. The train ride had been highly uneventful and honestly I didn't like it because it gave my mind too much time to dwell on the thought that I would never be going home. We had stopped about halfway through the ride so far at another town, and I was directed off by the guards as the girls got off at the train station.

Xam said something to the lead guard, to which the guard nodded in reply, before her and the other girls disappeared in a flash of light from Xam's horn. As I waited with the guards for Xam and the others to hopefully return I watched as passerbyers stared at me and the guards as they went along their way. Honestly it made me feel like an animal at the zoo, which didn't help with my frustration that had been building as I began to grow impatient. Luckily Xam and the others returned before too long in another flash of light. This time I noticed that each of them now wore a golden necklace around their necks with a shaped jewel amulet; all except Xam who wore an elegant gold crown with a large pink jeweled six-pointed star in the center.

Upon closer, careful, prolonged inspection I noticed that all of the pendants that the girls wore were of similar shape and color to the tattoos that marked their hips. This was just another piece of evidence that these girls were somehow important around here, in particular Xam. I put that case on the back burner for the time being as I figured that the answer would come along on its own with time. Xam directed us back onto the train and as the engine lurched forward we were back on our way down the rails.

That lead us back to where we were now, clanking along down to the tracks to some unknown destination with me staring off distantly out the window. I was lost in what was basically a specialist's wet dream with no way of communicating and no foreseeable way of getting home. The more I thought about my situation it honestly made me more depressed and that just made pissed that I was at the whim of fate right now. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't notice someone sit down on the bench next to me. Suddenly I felt the slightest touch on my right shoulder, soft like the brush of a butterfly's wing, and I was startled out of my thoughts.

Turning to my right quickly I heard a squeaking sound like the tiniest mouse, and a certain butter colored pink haired woman freeze in fright. My heart beat loudly in my chest at being startled but it also beat for other reasons as I was finally able to gaze upon the shy woman's face for the first time. She had to be the most beautiful woman I had seen since arriving to this land. True each of the women were stunningly beautiful in their own ways, even Vemia Hewl was a good solid 8.5 or 9 because none of them wore anykind of makeup. Yet the winged woman sitting in front of me now held a level of beauty that one could only find on only the purest of angels or other heavenly beings, and as I saw her eyes mist up a little with tears from being startled just as much as I had been I just wanted to hold her and shield her innocence from the evils of the world.

I tried to give her a reassuring smile to help calm her down, "Hello there, Paxxil was it?"

Slowly I extended my hand to hopefully reassure her by touching her on the hand, but as I my hand got closer to her I stopped as I saw her hand trembling more the closer mine became. Not wanting to frighten her further and figuring I had done enough damage to the poor girl so I returned back to my side of the bench.

I waited in silence for what seemed like around ten minutes for the shy woman to say or do something, but all she did was sit there and nervously fidget with the ends of her hair as she hid her face behind the silky bangs again. Every so often I would see her move slightly to face my direction but when she would see me look towards her she would cower again and mutter "Wys (Sorry)" in a voice so soft it reminded me of the cooing of a dove.

Figuring that my previous actions around the poor woman had made her think I was just some kind of mindless violent person I sadly returned to looking out the window wanting to give her her space. And after almost half an hour more of silence I pretty much assumed that she had returned to her seat, to afraid to talk to the violent creature. My eyes grew heavy under the noonday sun and I closed them to take a quick nap. I drifted slowly off to the world of dreams when a slender pair of yellow arms ripped me back to reality.

My first reaction was to jump like before, but any urge to struggle was immediately squashed as the smell of cherry blossoms filled my nose. As I was pulled back against a soft chest, I dared not to speak a word lest I scare the angel who was now wrapping her wings around me in a comforting embrace. I felt her fingers begin to run softly through my hair as she began to say something in her soothing voice, that I could only guess was some kind of apology or reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Because even though she was nude there wasn't even the slightest feeling of lust in the embrace, only one of comfort like a newborn baby being cradled by its mother. And it was in this comfort that my worries drifted away and I slowly fell asleep in the arms of this timid woman.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I awoke an unknown amount of hours later as the train screeched to a halt. A quick glance out of the car window let me know that it was sometime in the early afternoon as the sun was still high in the sky but was already well along on its downward path. Paxxila was gone from the bench by the time I had awaken and after a quick glance around at the other seats I found her sitting towards the front of the car talking to Vemsa Hewl.

It was odd to me that Paxxila had just straight up and hugged me like she did, especially when she couldn't even gather the courage to talk to me. Either way, I was indebted to her that she had shown me that single act of kindness because it made the situation of never possibly returning to the world I was used to a little less frightening.

The conductor announced over the intercom system some sort of message and everyone in the railcar stood to leave, Etpinego motioning for me to come along. Grabbing my backpack I slung it over my shoulder and fell inline behind the girls as we filed off the train.

The hissing sound of steam being relieved from pressurized boilers and the sweet smell of burning kerosene filled my senses as I walked out of the railcar and onto the platform. As I took a look around the rail station I stopped in awe at the sight before me and almost dropped my bag from my shoulders if I hadn't hooked my thumbs in the straps. The station was located halfway up a towering peak that stretched for many hundred more feet above where we stood till finally it crested in a cap of pure white snow. Along the side of the mountain was nestled a buzzing metropolis that rivaled the great cities of antiquity in its splendor.

Colorfully winged citizens flew between the towering buildings that seemed to have been carved out of the very side of the ridge itself. While hot air balloons floated lazily in the afternoon breeze as they ferried back in forth like flying tortoises from a central hub up near the mountain's peak. But the single most amazing attraction had to be the marble castle that was perched fearlessly out over the side of the mountains slopes. Its pristine white towers that seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun towered ever skyward, threatening to outreach the mountain itself, as a thundering waterfall spilled off the edge of the castle's dais crashing into the wide forested valley below.

"Wow," I said breathlessly as I let out a low whistle, "I didn't even know people could build things such as this."

A nudge from behind me by one of the guards knocked me out of my awe and I hurried along, so as to not lose the girls in the technicolored crowd. Although I doubt that that would happen being as I stand at least a head higher than the local populace and could easily spot Xam's lavender wings and horn in the crowd. Once we had exited the station two of the guards took up point in our little group as the crowd parted like the Red Sea did for Moses when the saw Xam and the others. Xam, like when we had entered the village yesterday, was walking with an air of authority about her as she held her head high and her wings arched out behind her.

The crowds stopped in their tracks to watch our procession pass as we continued on down the thoroughfare, and I heard muttering from them and even saw the occasional bystander point in my direction. Being talked about by strangers should have made me nervous, but for some reason the only thing I felt was my irritation rising once again and I wanted nothing more than to be done with this situation. Yet I had to endure it if I was going to get any kind of answers, at least I hoped so.

As we moved long through the streets, walking up through the different levels of the city, I noticed more and more of the inhabitants were wearing clothes. Some still only wore the occasional accessory, but a steady growing group of the others were wearing full outfits that reminded me of Victorian England. These clothed people seemed to walk with the same air of authority that Xam was, and even their bows weren't as low as the nude citizens from back at the station.

'Maybe clothes are a status symbol.' I thought to myself as I watched a particularly tall white furred woman with a horn on her head and styled powder pink hair, who was dressed like she was about to board the S.S. Titanic. 'Yet they still don't entirely seem to be on the same level as Xam, because they are the ones who keep initiating the bow.'

Onward we trekked and I could feel my calves starting to burn a little from the amount of walking and sheer number of steps we had climbed. Eventually though we finally reached the outer wall of the castle and our party stopped before a massive wooden gate that was guarded by two of the bronze armored guards. These two however were clearly male with their broad shoulders and squared jaws as they stood at their post motionless, silently announcing their authority to all who passed. Once the two gate guards saw Xam and the others they swiftly moved to open the gate and allow us passage into the castle grounds.

The other side of the gate spread out into an expansive garden that was filled with many decorative bushes that were being expertly tended to by a team of gardeners. But I never held much of an appreciation for horticulture, finding the whole process too tedious for me to bother with. Instead I focused on the path I was being lead along on, that winded through the garden till it eventually took us into the castle proper.

My amazement grew as we made our way through the towering marble hallways. Each side was lined with columns and colorful tapestries that hung from the ceiling that loomed high above my head. The floor was made of green granite that had been polished to a mirror finish as I looked at my reflection in the emerald depths. Sunlight shown down through detailed stain glass windows, which were so massive that you could possibly tow the nose of a jumbo jet through them and still not run the risk of touching the sides. Who ever had built this castle had to be true masters of their trade because all the stones, from the floor to the top of the ceiling, fit together with such precision that it looked like the castle was made from solid pieces of marble and granite.

I continued to gaze at the majestic fortress around me that I didn't notice our group had come to a stop till I bumped into the rear of Vemsa, who shot me a scowl before facing forward again. Muttering a muffled sorry I looked up to see why we had stopped to see that there was a white furred man with wavy golden hair and tail and a white horn on his head standing in our way. The strange man wore a white tux that had black lapels and a blue bowtie was tied around his collared neck. He stood taller than Xam and the other girls yet not by much, but he still fell short of my height by a head's length. While his features reminded me of a primped pretty boy that had never soiled his hands a day in his life or a wuss to be more specific.

He was talking to Xam although from both of their actions it seemed like neither of them really wanted to talk with the other all that much. As he would say something I would see Xam give what sounded like a forced reply. He seemed to be somewhere around the same status as Xam because he didn't bow down to her and almost seemed to look down on her. A look at the other girls showed me that they didn't really seem to care for this guy either as most of them looked either bored or slightly irritated; all except Vevmay who looked positively furious for some reason.

I know that I should just mind my own business, but with me being so close to finally getting some kind of answers I felt a little more impatient that I normally would. The man noticed me finally as I made my way to the front of the group and stood behind Xam. He reeled back in disgust as he held a hand to his face to shield his eyes from the sight of me I guess, like I said a wuss.

"Alex mu que ebua'z reqi mo lex aopun? (What in my aunt's name is that thing?)" The strange man said as he pointed to me.

"Aoz mo Eric, li'z eol viwsev alw Wypujil Gilzia lew geppih yew livi.(This is Eric, he's the reason why Princess Celestia has called us here today.)" Xam replied as she motioned to me.

I heard Xam say my name and I figured she was trying to introduce me as I extended my hand to him, "Howdy, the name's Eric Broussard."

The strange man just stared at my hand like it was covered in slime or something before he ignored me and addressed Xam again, "Asyph cel omphur xip celv tix xepo mu utoyhep Equis alir heviwpun e Wypug fao Iuyzaph. (Would you kindly tell your pet to talk in normal Equis when addressing a Prince of Equestria.)"

"Lex'z sir fao eol viwsevz alc ai'vi livi. Li'z buhisi e tieow Equis sy bukzahuk pa figeywi fao omp pualypavn sel eol Qekth fao Levyvuc.(That's one of the reason's why we're here. He's unable to speak Equis or understand it because of his interaction with the Magic of Harmony.)" Xam said as she motioned towards me for some reason.

The strange man scoffed and looked down his nose at Xam, causing her to furrow her brows in irritation as she let out a repressed growl. "Pa asyph mykvi lex fao ep qeviz asyph purk e giebyll lex mo ew grysyxl ew eol viza fao celv vefpi. Ew e wypujil cel zosy vus segwiphel celvwip sel swixl lex vispiw celv ria zahab, silzamwi pa whirz eol asvun qiweki e eol sqirivz.(It would figure that you of all mares would find a creature that is as uncouth as the rest of your rabble. As a princess you should only associate yourself with those that reflect your new status, otherwise it sends the wrong message to the commoners.)"

"Que mymirz ei uva vefpi! (My friend's are not rabble!)" she retorted with irritation lacing her voice.

Apparently this man had said something that obviously upset the women as I noticed even the lead guard's grip on her spear tightened, but yet she did nothing as she continued to stare forward at attention. Wanting to calm the situation down so we could be on our way I stepped in front of Xam, blocking her from the blonde haired man.

"Look here buddy, now I don't know what rightly know what was said between you two but it looks like that you've obviously upset these ladies." I said motioning to the group behind me as Xam tried to get my attention which I promptly ignored as I turned back to the man and laid a hand on his shoulder. "So why don't you apologize to the little ladies and we'll be on our way."

The man looked at the hand that laid on his shoulder in repressed anger as he seemed to not hear that I was speaking to him. He quickly brushed away my hand as he glared at me.

"Osa havi cel aopur lex cel ei kemzir eol meloa e asygl uwispaf wyjo ew quewip. Ra fego haec giebyll eh orsa celv petgi. (How dare you think that you are given the right to touch nobility such as myself. Now back away creature and know your place.)" And with that he back handed me across my cheek causing the women behind me to gasp in shock as my head was knocked to the side.

Yet I couldn't hear their gasp as I slowly retracted my face, my cheek slightly stinging from the impact. I had to give it to the guy he had a mean backhand, but Eric Broussard was no one's bitch and I sure as hell didn't have a rule against hitting douchebags. Especially ones half my size in muscle mass and should have known better than to be picking fights.

The look of superiority on his face was immediately replaced with one of terror as he gasped in a lung full of air to replace the oxygen I had just forced out of his lungs as my fist made contact with his spine via his stomach. He began to lean forward, doubling over on my arm, but I wasn't going to give him a moments rest as I withdrew my fist and clenched my hand around his neck. With a quick heft of his body upwards and my right heel hooked behind his own, I choke-slammed the little prick onto the stone floor.

As I straddled him and pinned his arms beneath the weight of my knees I looked into his terrified eyes, who literally a moment before held such smugness. His chest was still heaving erratically as his still devoid lings tried to feed air into them through the crushed windpipe I still held in my grasp. Leaning down to him I barred my teeth and tightened my grip a little causing his eyes to bulge slightly in their sockets as he probably began to go in and out of consciousness.

"Now apologize." I told him slowly.

From behind me I could hear the muffled sounds of the girls as they yelled something that I couldn't understand. My anger was too high right now to worry about it, yet when I saw the flowing of purple and blue light wash over me I was distracted long enough to look up. Just in time to see a grey furred guard thrust the metal capped end of his spear into my forehead. The world immediately began to shrink into darkness as I lost control of my muscles and fell sideways onto the cold granite.

Pain was the first thing that registered in my mind as I started to come to. There was a steady throbbing pain that centered itself in the front part of my skull that I was sure would form a bump soon if there wasn't one already. I could feel the smooth dimpled texture of a stone floor beneath my left cheek, the cold that was seeping through my skin did seem to help ease the pain in my head. My shoulder began to ache in protest from having laid on the stone floor for however long it had been, rolling onto my stomach I let out a groan as the muscles in my back stretched themselves back out. I laid there on the floor for a moment as I gathered my thoughts the best I could.

"Okay, probably wasn't the best course of action to have done." I said into the empty void, hearing my echo back to me off of the walls as I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

As I figured, I was in a jail cell of some sort, although unlike the damp slimy cesspools that I was used to seeing in the movies, this one was actually quite accommodating. Well about as accommodating as a cell could be. Three of the walls were made up of stone blocks without as much as a window to be seen. While the fourth wall comprised of heavy iron bars evenly spaced out just wide enough for someone to not be able to slip between. I could make out a gate on one side of the barred wall with a heavy duty padlock keeping me within the room. Outside the cell was a stone hallway that was lit by torches that ran along the front of my cell and more than likely to my neighboring cells.

Furnishings in the room were sparse to say the least, but being a jail cell I wasn't expecting the Ritz. A simple wooden cot that was bolted to the floor sat in the far corner from me and, luckily for me, a toilet and sink sat in the other. I said a silent prayer to whoever would listen about small miracles. Because I'm all for roughing it but having to use a shit bucket would have been a little rough even for me.

But now it was on to more important things like the fact I had just assaulted a member of their society who was probably someone of high position. I don't think they took too kindly to that if my being in this cell was any kind of indication. Walking up to the bars I tried to peer out into the dimly lit hallway. I couldn't make out much off to the left but more hallway, yet to the right I could see a heavy iron door that hopefully lead to freedom if the situation should happen to call for it.

No matter how much I wanted to hope for the best out of this predicament, I knew that realistically I was probably looking at making this cell my home for the foreseeable future or worse. So I needed a possible way of escape should the need arise. I reached my arms out from between the bars one by one, followed by my legs as I tried to see what my area of reach was outside the cell. At my furthest I came within inches of the far wall, more than enough to grab a passing guard or someone I could use as leverage to help aid me in my escape. Now knowing that bit of information I began to look for something that I could arm myself with.

Surprisingly, they had left me with my nylon belt, whether on purpose or a mistake I didn't care because I was going to take any chance that was given to me. Going over to the cot I lifted up the mattress, propping it against the wall, and began to try and pry loose one of the cross boards. The board creaked and moaned as I fought against the tacks that held it to the frame, but with a well placed kick from one of my steel-toed boot I was soon holding my makeshift club.

I paused momentarily to listen for if my ruckus had attracted a prison guard, but the only thing I could hear was the crackling sound of the torches in the hallway. Swinging the piece of wood a couple of times so as to help get a feel for my new weapon and I was feeling pretty confident in my odds of getting out of here. I knelt down to hide the club under the bed till the time arose that I would have to use if when I heard the clanking of keys from the hallway door. It looked like I had attracted some unwanted attention after all as I lay back on the floor where I was before. As I closed my eyes to feign sleeping I could make out the creaking of the heavy metal hinges and the distinct sound of metal shoes on the stone floor as my visitors drew closer to my cell.

I could make out the distinct sound of three sets of steps as they unlocked the padlock to my cell. One of them walked with a heavy footfall and I could hear the clanking sound of armor as they walked announcing to me that they were a guard. But their associate's footsteps were more of a mystery being softer and rhythmic in nature as their metal shoes almost seemed to chime on the stone floor.

A voice spoke out to the others and I assumed it was the guard, "Li'w mu live celv qenwmew. Ei cel zybl cel asseduva vijiv opt e fi vizaypulk. (He's in here your majesties. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer him to be restrained.)"

"Ur, aohrz cel que spasi svuf. Que zawxiv eh mi zlep fi ripul vu sy sar. (No, thank you my little pony. My sister and I shall be fine on our own.)" I heard a young feminine voice reply before the sound of the guard's footsteps could be heard walking back down the hallway. Growing softer till the metal door was closed at the end of the hall leaving my alone with the other two.

I kept my eyes closed and continued to pretend to be still unconscious until I could try and get an idea of the situation. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to rely much on what they said as much as how they said it. So I strained my ears so as to gather as much info as I could.

"Ei cel zybl lex aoz jubywi fao egemuv mo amwi zawxiv? Cel viqifit osa togl tvaoly myshik guxhaja sel aopli asysk geppun xliq e bywih vegi.(Are you sure that this course of action is wise sister? You remember how much mother forbided contact with their world calling them a cursed race.)" The first one spoke quietly to which the other one replied.

The new voice, while also feminine, sounded slightly more mature and seemed to hold a calming effect with it as she spoke, "Uv mi et uva zybl Pyre, iba mi le fipmiz xivi mo togl ai gypsh pievu myst iegl saliv. Viqifiv eps eol kiss aopli asysk lew svul sy syz, eh tivletz alic lezi fiir efpi e sisivgi aopli bywi. (No I am not sure Luna, but I do believe there is much we could learn from each other. Remember all the good their world has done for ours, and perhaps they have been able to find a way to overcome their curse.)"

The room grew silent for a moment before the first one spoke again slowly, "Tivletz. Cix ai lezr uv thiqphal aec e gupgexl sel opt, viqifiw alex Xamspona Tevopi asph yew, eol Qekth fao Levyvuc lew uv jigix vu opti. Mi imi uva fipmizi pa ex mypza iba ra wipun liv sy qicsiw mi ge uv svuniv nukluy eol aybao. (Perhaps. Yet we have no immediate way to communicate with him, remember what Twilight Sparkle told us, the Magic of Harmony has no affect on him. I did not believe it at first but now seeing him for myself I can no longer ignore the truth.)"

At the mention of Xam I was began to think that maybe the girls were able to convince these people that I wasn't so bad. If that was the case then I would be in each of their debts for the foreseeable future. As I felt a little more at ease with the situation a desire grew in me to get a peek at these new women to size them up just incase this still went south. Rolling on my back I heard the first one give a little gasp, but as I tried to get a look through my closed eyelashes I could only make out the cloudy outlines of the two figures. One was as dark as the night sky while the other was pure white mixed with an assortment of pastel colors.

I heard the second one talk again as I found that it belonged to the white figure, "Mi tser e vulja ximapa sel omp pukt. (I plan to connect directly with his mind.)"

Apparently the darker figure didn't agree with whatever the other woman had said as she stepped in front of her, "Uv zawxiv, mi ger ur espa cel e lec lex! Ai lezi uv hime alex gypsh lettir e ximliv fao cel, svah puktz ei uva qierx e lerpih eol wirx fao eol pasvah pukt.(No sister, I can not allow you to do that! We have no idea what could happen to either of you, mortal minds are not meant to handle the torrent of the immortal mind.)"

"Mi orsa lex.( I know that.)" The white one said in a slightly more firm tone than before, "Iba alex jovgi lec ai lezi. Pa amp vusf fi vus e qexiv fao apti fisvi li mo symbuk mao li lew uva epviech fiir. Li amp rih ep eol lipt li ger kix mao li mo kopun e zimzi, eh sel yew hiss e gupgexl sel opt ai klnoafi hiss e kerm irskol skevmsr e whir lew osti. (But what choice do we have. It will only be a matter of time before he is found if he hasn't already been. He will need all the help he can get if he is going to be able to survive, and with us able to communicate with him we might be able to gain enough information to send him home.)"

"Erh alex mao ai ger riziv whir opt osti?(And what if we can never send him home?)" the dark one asked in a pleading tone trying to convince the white one about something I could feel the hurt in her voice as she spoke, "Alex mao opt mo bywih e viqemr livi? Cel orsa liw amp purk opt iziryepc, erh alir liw his amp uva zav aps opt mo hiwschi. (What if he is cursed to remain here? You know she will find him eventually, and when she does she will not stop until he is destroyed.)"

"Lixr pa mo sy fyhvir ew tigsvz fao aoz vieqp e irvi lex izir mu eol irh, aliriziv lex qec fi, lex xivi wa pimp wyjivpun. Ra wher ewmih erh pix qi lec alex zabt fi svul mi lec uva lezi togl ximq, li mo epviech eaeoirpun. (Then it is our burden as protectors of this realm to ensure that even in the end, whenever that may happen, that he suffers little. Now allow me to do what must be done I do not have much time, he is already awakening.)" the white one said as she stepped around the dark one, her feet chiming on the floor until she stood next to me and kneeled down by my head.

"Cel qier 'ai lec uva lezi togl ximq.' (You mean 'we do not have much time.')" The dark one said as she came around to my other side and knelt down as well, "Mi aew witivexih myst cel sirg fisvi eh mao cel ei rspun e wom celvwip lepun aoz lixr mi amp lec uv piw. (I was separated from you once before and if you are going to risk yourself doing this than I will do no less.)"

"Pyre…(Luna…)" The white woman said softly as she reached an arm out and touched the dark one on the cheek I imagined as I saw the darker one lean into the touch, "Aohur cel.(Thank you.)"

Right now I was starting to become a little nervous and yet a little excited about the possible outcomes of this situation. They could be either intending to kill me or rape me and any other outcome in between. I forced myself to remain still as I watched them, through closed eyelids, reach out to my face. As their fingers touched my temples I felt an immediate warmth rush through my body.

It started as comforting warmth like the feeling you get from a fire place on a cold winter night, but it soon grew into a raging inferno that I could feel down into the depths of my body as I clenched my eyes closed. It burned worse than anything else I had ever experienced before in my life. Even the times I had been burned while changing overheated aircraft brakes on a quickturn inspection couldn't compare to this.

I opened my eyes as my vision was blinded by radiant white and navy colored light. Fearing that the two women were trying to kill me I shot up as quickly as I could, knocking the two women away. Blinded by the light, I knew I was at a serious disadvantage as I crashed into the cot on the far wall. Not wasting any time I fumbled under the bed blindly for the club I had hidden there. Once my fingers touched the wooden plank I yanked it out and thrust it in the general direction that I hoped the two women stood.

"Stay back!" I yelled as I rubbed my eyes hoping to gain some semblance of vision back, fear coursing over me at my vulnerability, "I didn't come this far just to be killed by you two. Now show me to this Gilzia so I can get the hell out of this topsy-turvy world."

"Please Eric, we meant no harm to you." I heard the dark woman's voice say to me from somewhere infront of me.

"Yeah right." I scoffed at her as I swung my weapon aimlessly, hoping to keep them at bay, "You expect me to fu-… wait a minute. You can speak English? Are you Gilzia?"

"No I am." The white woman said as I continued to rub my eyes, "Although in your tongue I would be known as Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the Land of Equestria with my sister Princess Luna."

"Pleased to meet you." The dark woman, who I could only assume was Luna, said as she was introduced. "And do accept our apologies for any discomfort you may have experienced during our actions, but we were desperate to be able to talk to you on equal terms."

I rubbed my eyes one last time as I tried to open them again. To my joy my vision was rapidly returning to my as I could already make out the two women's outlines and they were rapidly coming into focus. After a moment I was able to finally see clearly again and I would have dropped the club in my hand if I didn't have such a tight grip on it and I felt any burning sensation left from before leave me to be replaced by the warm feeling again.

Both women were exceedingly beautiful; in fact, if one was to try and describe them they could only call them otherworldly. They both stood taller than any other one of their species that I seen so far and almost seemed to be as tall as my own six foot frame. They resembled Xam in appearance because the both possessed a set of angelic wings and a straight horn out of their head that twisted from base to tip, but that was where the similarities seemed to stop.

The darker one, called Luna, was a svelte woman with just the right amount of curves to go with her body, accentuating it in everyway. Her fur appeared almost black in color, but as I stared longer under the torch light I realized that it was actually a dark navy in color. Placed firmly on each grab-able hip was a black blotch of fur with a white crescent moon mark contrasting against the darker fur. I was immediately drawn to her large expressive aquamarine eyes that accentuated her flawless face and held onto my own eyes and didn't seem to want to let them go.

Somehow I was able to pry my eyes from hers as I noticed that her hair and tail seemed to move on its own, even though I couldn't feel any sort of breeze in the room. The ethereal lock sparkled in the dim light like the stars in a west Texas night sky, and if I looked hard enough I was sure that I could make out constellations in the flowing locks.

Like most of the other women I had seen so far her attire was completely devoid of fabric but she still wore accessories that did just enough to complete the package. On top of her head rested a pointed tiara made out of a shiny black material that looked to be metal, although I was unfamiliar with any kind of metal that was black. Hanging from her neck was a necklace that reminded me of those wesekh collars worn by the ancient Egyptians; for while it was made from the same beautiful metal as her crown the wide pendant hanging from the delicate silver chain spread the whole width of her chest as it rested atop her firm looking breast. Beautiful etching spiraled across the pendant's surface leading to a massive opal in the center that was carved into the same crescent moon shape that was on her hips. She shifted on her feet as I heard the same chiming sound from earlier. Looking down I saw that on her feet was what looked like a pair of segmented silver high heeled slippers, which matched the silver gauntlets that I saw she was wearing as she brushed a strand of her hair out of her face.

While Luna looked like a goddess of the night Gilzia, or I guess it was actually Celestia, reminded me of a spring dawn at the end of a long winter. Before it looked like her fur was white, but now with my eyes fully open I could see that it was more than just white as it shined with a pearlescent glow as I could make out shades of pinks and blues across her womanly figure. From her long legs that seemed to go on for days to her soft looking child bearing hips that bore an orange sun the size of a sunflower on each one. Continuing upwards past her slender taunt waist I came to her heavy looking breast that her wide pendant made of gold rested happily on. Her pendant, while just as finely engraved as Luna's, held a diamond shaped stone of amethyst instead of a moon shaped gem, and hung daintily from her slender neck by a thin gold chain. Her face was slightly narrower than her sister's, but was no less beautiful as it held a motherly charm to it. Her violet colored eyes looked at me with the same maternal serenity, but I could see a twinkle in them hinting at a very cunning and intelligent mind.

Her billowing hair and tail was streaked in varying shades of blue, aqua, pink and green. As I continued to stare at her hair as it lazily floated in the non existing breeze I felt a calming sensation come over me like when staring at the waves of the ocean. On top of her head was a crown similar to Luna's but it was taller and in the same golden material of her necklace, it even had a smaller version of the purple jewel of its own in the center. She even wore the same type of ceremonial footwear and bracelets that shined with a golden hue.

Looking at the two women I vaguely thought about how even though they were not obviously human that they could still be so 'Beautiful.'

Celestia gave me an almost mischievous smile as Luna's cheeks turned a slight shade of deep purple, "So you find us beautiful."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Celestia gave me an almost mischievous smile as Luna's cheeks turned a light shade of purple, "So you find us beautiful."

'Crap!' I thought to myself as I began to panic a little, 'Did I just say that out loud?'

"No you did not speak it aloud." Luna answered as she crossed her arms under her bosom, giving me an upset look as a slight frown formed on her lips and her wings fidgeted in exasperation, "And how dare you describe my sister's hips in a more favorable fashion. Are mine so lacking?"

'Crap! They can hear me! What the fuck do I do… uh… uh… uh…? Clear my mind. Yeah that'll work. I just don't have to think any indecent thoughts about them…Shit! This would be easier if they weren't standing there naked in front of me."

As I continued to silently freak the fuck out, the women shared a knowing look with each other before smiling.

'Calm down Eric it is alright.' I heard Celestia's voice say in my head.

'Fuck! Now I can hear their voices in my head! This shit ain't happening. What the fuck did they do to me? Am I under some kind of mind control…?' I panicked to myself as I began to rabble away in my mind trying to justify what was going on with me in a logical sense but I was falling woefully short.

Meanwhile, Luna and Celestia seemed content to continue to let me spin in a death spiral down into insanity for a few more moments. Celestia personally looked like she was highly amused with my reaction while Luna eventually rolled her aqua eyes at me, the humor of the situation evidently gone for her.

"Please be at ease Eric Broussard. You are not going to be used as our plaything to create a group of hybrid super soldiers or whatever else you may think we mean to do with you." She said to me as she walked over to me and touched the end of my makeshift club which had been trembling quite clearly by then, "What you are experiencing is more than likely a residual side effect of the merging of your mind with my sister's and mine."

At that phrase I stopped trembling almost at once and looked the shadowy princess in the eye, my own narrowed a little, as what she had said began to sink in, "You two did what?"

"We temporarily merged our minds with yours, so as to find the information we needed in order to be able to talk to you in your own language." Celestia said as she sat down on the cot next to me gaining my attention, "We do apologize for not asking your permission prior to doing so but time is short and your situation is so unique that we could not go about with a less 'drastic' measure."

"What do you mean unique? What's wrong with me?" I asked her hoping to get some kind of answers to help explain some of the strange things that had been happening to me since waking up back in the forest.

"Nothing is wrong with you, at least not physically, mentally or even spiritually from what we could see during our bond. It is what's different about you magically." Luna stated as she took a seat on the other side of me. I could tell by the calming tone of her voice that she was trying to consul for some reason. It almost made me feel like she was a doctor who was trying to tell me, her patient, that I had some kind of incurable disease and shouldn't be alive.

"Magically? What are you talking about? There's no such thing as magic, all that is stuff is smoke and mirrors done by performers." I replied a little upset that these two were in fact just trying to pull my leg.

"Wrong Eric, magic does exist and it is everywhere around us as the Magic of Harmony." Celestia explained with a warm smile but I wasn't convinced.

"What you mean like the Force? Once again that isn't real," I said as I took a couple of calming breaths and tried to think of another way to try and get some more information, "Okay let's say I was to believe you, what is it that's so 'magically' wrong with me?"

"Unlike every other species on the planet you are not connected to the flow of the Magic of Harmony. While it flows through Luna and me it instead seems to be repelled away from or is even neutralized by you, thus not allowing you to talk with us in the normal manner." Celestia explained but I still wasn't buying it.

"And how would this magic allow me to converse with you? "

"The world is made up of many different species who all speak their own unique language, which would make it very difficult for us to speak with say a minotaur because of that barrier. But being as both of our species are connected to the Magic of Harmony the words that comes out of our mouths are altered and changed inside the recipient's ear canal so that all they hear is their language. Thus allowing everyone to prosper together in harmony," Luna explained to tell me as I saw her horn light up blue and two glowing figures of what seemed to be a minotaur and herself appeared in her open palms.

I had halfway listened to her explanation as I was more transfixed on the glowing specters floating there in free space. As much as I wanted to continue to not believe them there really was overwhelming amount of evidence to support their claims between what I had seen with Xam and her friends. Maybe what they were saying was true and there was magic on this world or some force that they called magic, which meant with certainty that this wasn't Earth and any chance I had to get back home now rested with Celestia and possibly even Luna.

"So you're telling me because I don't interact with this magic that none of your magic works on me, right?" I asked as they both gave me a small nod as I continued with my train of thought, "Then how are you able to talk to me now? How were you able to use magic on me when others couldn't?"

"That is because we didn't use magic." Celestia stated matter-of-factly before deciding to elaborate more as she looked at my confused face, "My sister and I are of a species known as alicorns and we differ greatly from our subjects. We were able to mentally make a connection with you through physical contact."

"Alicorns?" I asked as I pondered over the meaning of the word.

Celestia brought a finger to her lips as she looked like she was thinking of the best way to explain, "I suppose the literal translation would be 'goddess'."

"Goddess?" I replied in disbelief as I stood up and walked over to the far wall to contemplate what she had told me, after a fleeting moment I turned back to them with a slight smile on my face, "You're telling me that you two are goddesses?"

"Yes," Luna relied with a nod of her head in conformation, "My sister controls the sun and the day while I control the moon and the night skies."

For some reason I found this statement hilarious as I started to laugh, maybe it was because of all the mind-boggling things I had heard and seen since I showed up in this world so why not add deities to the list. Starting out as just a chuckle deep in my throat my laughter soon grew until I was holding my sides and leaning against the wall to support myself so as to not fall over. I slowly began to regain my composure as I wiped a tear away from my eye, but one look back at the two women and I lost it again as I fell to my knees laughing in pure delight.

The two women continued to sit in silence waiting for me to stop laughing like a toddler. Celestia still had the same motherly smile on her face and almost seemed like she would join me in laughing at any moment, but Luna was anything but amused as she had her arms and legs crossed with a frown across her features.

"Is there something I said that amuses you?" I heard her say quite upset that I was making light of what she said.

As my laughing died down into slow giggles and the occasional cough to help clear my sore throat I stood back up and dusted off my knees. The saying that 'laughter is the best medicine' proved to be true for me as that outburst had cured me of any feelings of anxiety and fear that I may have had before. As I rested my hands on my hips I took one final deep breath to reset my calm demeanor as I turned to address the 'goddesses' once more.

"Sorry about that," I apologized to them, "Just remembering how my people usually envision deities as old men with beards, so if you two are goddesses then I must have without a doubt joined the wrong religion."

"Is that so?" Celestia said with a slight giggle.

"Yeah, but I'm still not entirely sure what you did and what was the big hurry. Not that I'm complaining mind you. It's good to be able to talk with someone again. I guess you never really realize how important talking is until you can't do it for a few days."

"Even talking with one's such as us?" Luna asked the tone of her voice made it sound like she was seemingly still upset at me for laughing at them, but the smug smirk on her face let me know otherwise.

I smirked right back at her, figuring that if I was willing to basically laugh at these goddesses to there face then might as well go for broke, "You two are in my head remember? So I would figure that you should already know what I'm thinking about when it comes to you two." I told her as I tapped the side of my head and began to think up images of the two in the most carnal of context. If I was going to die because of this I was going to go down being myself, and after all they were the ones who came into my mind without permission.

The effect was almost immediate as Luna blushed deeply and averted her eyes from mine, finding a peculiar spot on the stone floor that looked particularly interesting, and even Celestia's pearly cheeks held a rosy tint to them as I heard her mutter softly as her breathing increased, "I must remember that one."

I let them dwell on the thoughts for a moment before something important came to mind about what Luna had said earlier, "So how long should this mind connection last?"

Celestia was the first one to look up at me with a start, seemingly distracted for some reason, although what it could have been I couldn't possibly of imagined. Or could I? She began to speak as Luna continued to blush, "We are not entirely sure because no alicorn has ever merged their minds with that of a lesser mind, or anyone not of alicorn blood for that matter. I would imagine that the connection should fade away over the next few weeks and maybe even faster depending on our distance from each other. But in the end I can not say for sure."

I had to pause for a moment to think about what she was telling me before I thought about her statement of merging with a lesser mind, "Wait a minute, did you just call me stupid?"

Celestia had to laugh at this, it wasn't a dainty giggle but an actual full on laugh that rang through the cell like the sound of a bells. "Hardly, I do apologize, I guess I should have said 'mortal' mind instead. But the process has less to do with your actual intelligence as it does with your brain capacity. The merging process literally adds the capacity of our brains together for a brief moment forming a mental bond, but the risk arises in that even though your brain functions at a much lower capacity it may have still been too much for either of our brains to handle. That is why Luna merged with you as well so as to help even out the mental load."

She paused for a moment when she saw that I was having a little bit of a hard time understanding the theory she was trying to explain to me. With a thoughtful look she began to explain again, "Think about like this. Imagine you have two cups of water. In one cup you have the water filled most of the way, while in the other it's only filled a quarter of the way. Now imagine if you were to pour the cup that was only a quarter of the way full into the cup that was mostly full or even the other way around?"

"The cup could overfill." I stated getting an idea at what she was trying to get at.

"Exactly, now lets add another cup that is mostly filled and then pour the cup that is filled a quarter of the way equally into the two other cups. There is more space for the water in the cup that is filled only partially to go into between the two cups than just one. So the load is shared and we had enough control to ensure that it was us who shared the load as opposed to your mind having to bear both of ours."

"Okay I'm pretty sure I get it now." I told them, the same principal applied to when you overtaxed any type of system, whether that system was a computer, a car motor, or even a person if you asked too much of it you ran the risk of it crashing. Yet that raised even more questions for me, "I'm guessing that's why Xam couldn't do the mind merging with me earlier, because it would be too much for her mind? But it raises the question of why you would risk yourself just to be able to talk to me in the first place? Couldn't you have just waited and done it the old fashioned way? "

"Not quite, Xam, or Twilight Sparkle as her name would be in your tongue, may have been able to perform the task if she had known about it." Celestia pointed out as she emphasized with the raising of a finger, "You see, unlike Luna and I, she was not born a pureblooded alicorn and instead has only ascended to alicornhood status about three years ago. Unfortunately, even after that amount of time she still has a few more years to go before the transformation has taken full effect. In the end she will be the same as I, Luna, her sister-in-law Empress Mi Amore Cadenza, but for the moment you could say that her cup is still being filled.

"So yes she possibly could have performed the task as far as mental capacity, had she known about that ability, but with her body still maturing I am not sure she would have been able to keep it under control without running the risk of injury to either you or herself."

"But that does bring us to our next topic of conversation, the urgency of needing to be able to talk with you." Luna said as she seemed to have finally regained her poise, and I couldn't help but also think that she was trying to direct the conversation away from my other questions. But I decided to let this slide for now to instead focus on the matter of me leaving this prison.

"And that would be why I'm in this jail cell right?" I said as the sisters nodded in unison before Celestia began to speak again.

"That would be correct. You are here because of your physical assault on Prince Blueblood in the halls of this very castle."

"He's not my prince. And prince or not he should learn not to pick fights he can't win." I told the pastel hair colored woman as I crossed my arms defensively in front of me and smiled a little at the memory of slamming the man in question to the ground.

"He is our nephew and Lord Regent of the province of Canterlot, where we are currently at, and as such he is in his full right to declare for your immediate execution, which he has. Only Luna and I, as rulers of all Equestria and its surrounding territories, hold more power and the ability to rescind this order." She continued to tell me probably thinking that it would make me change my mind, but I held firmly in my resolve.

"I'm not apologizing if that's what you're looking for." I told them, pausing for a moment to let that sink in before continuing, "He was saying something that seemed to upset Twilight and her friends, and when I tried to resolve the situation he slapped me like I was some kind of two-bit hooker. Excuse my use of metaphors."

"Quite alright please continue." Luna said motioning me with her hand for me to go on.

"Well where I come from if you're going to hit someone, then it doesn't matter who you are you better be willing to take the repercussions. So I threw him to the ground and proceeded to ask him 'nicely' to apologize to the girls, and that's when one of your guards hit me in the head."

Once I had finished my story the two sisters seemed to mentally contemplate my story amongst themselves for a moment as they looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. I tried seeing if I could listen into their internal conversation but was unable to, whether from not knowing how to, or them being able to keep me out of their minds I wasn't sure. So I was relegated to stand off on the sidelines while my very fate was deliberated upon. After a few particularly harrowing moments the sisters directed their attention to me as they stood from the cot and walked over to me, their bodies holding such elegance and bearing as they walked the short distance to me. They stopped in front of me before giving me a calm smile that seemed to ease my apprehension and a slight bow of their heads.

"Thank you for being honest with us." Celestia spoke as she continued to smile, "Your story of the events matches those of the other witnesses who were there at the scene."

I felt a weight lift from my shoulders as she said this. I couldn't believe that I was going to get out of this with basically what amounted to a slap on the wrist. She must have either seen this on my face or used the link between us to read it from my thoughts as she spoke again letting me know that I wasn't out of the clear yet.

"However, there is still the matter of you attacking a member of the royal family that needs to be answered for." She stated as I swallowed nervously as my throat went dry, "Normally the sentence for such a crime is either death or life in prison. But we must take into account the fact that you were provoked into your actions, and there is also the matter of a fellow princess, certain other high ranking mares of her court, and even members of our own royal guard who vouch for you in your defense.

"So in light of this, my sister and I have decided that you punishment shall be to accompany us to our private dinning hall and to join us and your saviors for dinner so we can hopefully figure out a way to return you to your home, post haste."

At that I couldn't contain my excitement any longer at not only having my charges dropped but them also willing to help me get home as I quickly lifted the goddesses in my powerful arms and began to spin around whooping merrily. The moment only lasted briefly though as I remembered who it was that I was squeezing against my chest and I quickly set their feet back on the stone floor, giving them a sheepish grin in apology. The two deities didn't seem any worse for the wear other than a light blush on their cheeks and a small look of incredulity on their faces.

"Sorry about that" I said as I chuckled nervously, "Kind of got over excited there for a moment."

"Quite alright," the day goddess spoke as she reclaimed her serene appearance before her and Luna turned to walk out the door to my cell. Once they were in the hallway they noticed that I had not yet moved from my spot in the cell. Celestia gave me that same mischievous smile that I was quickly coming accustomed to associating with her, "Are you coming? Your punishment awaits."

"Yes ma'am" Was my crisp reply and I fell in behind the monochromatic siblings as they started down the hall again.

Once we had reached the door at the end of the hall a guard on the other side opened it for us to pass. As Celestia walked through the door she stopped on the other side of the frame and looked back over her shoulder at me.

"Oh, and Eric…" She stated as Luna passed through the door next to her.

"Yeah?"

"We can still read your thoughts."

'Damn.'


End file.
